Friday, November 9, 2001
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Friday, November 9, 2001 |
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Rapson only PTC council winner with runoff looming; voters shoot down recreation projects By JOHN
MUNFORD There was only one clear winner after Tuesday's elections in Peachtree City: Steve Rapson, who beat Nancy Faulkner for the post 3 city council seat by over a 2-1 margin. The other races are headed to the runoff election on Tuesday, Nov. 27, with the choice between mayoral candidates Steve Brown and Gary Rower and post 4 candidates Carol Fritz and Murray Weed. Brown drew 46 percent of the vote, close but not quite enough, while Rower took home 22 percent, followed closely by Dan Lakly, now out of the race, at 21 percent. Frank Murphy drew 9 percent of the vote. In the post 4 race, Weed out-drew Fritz 37 percent to 33 percent, but Alison Chambers took 22 percent of the vote, spurring the runoff scenario. The other post 4 candidate, Gerald Ostrowski, garnered 6 percent. But voters were clear about the slate of proposed recreation projects on the various bond referendum questions. None passed, although the initiative to add playgrounds and picnic shelters was the closest no vote, with almost 48 percent in favor. Also shot down was the bid to buy the Braelinn Baptist Church campus for a community center, improvements to the Drake Field area and the addition of a multipurpose gym and multipurpose room at the Kedron recreation center. Voters did approve the bond question for refinancing debt owed by the Airport Authority, which is slated to save approximately $100,000. A total of 34.3 percent of the registered voters in Peachtree City turned out for the election, according to figures from the Fayette County Board of Elections and Voter Registration. As for the runoff candidates, they are left to campaign another two weeks, with many attempting to draw voters who chose other candidates Tuesday but were eliminated from the runoff ballot. Brown feels he has some common ground with Lakly and Murphy, particularly in the area of being fiscally conservative and providing open government. Brown feels the key to his campaign is his website, and when asked about supporting the failed bond recreation projects through other city funds, he said "I will not actively seek to finance any nonessential infrastructure projects." Rower said he was thrilled to be in the runoff and he plans to get his "positive message about our community" to the voters. "As the obvious underdog we have a great deal of work to do but to paraphrase our commander in chief we will do whatever it takes for as long as we have to to get the job done." In an e-mail reply to The Citizen, he did not respond to the question about whether or not he would support any of the failed bond projects. Fritz said she feels it is important for voters "to take the time to fund out the truth about the candidates. "I was absolutely not responsible for thousands of apartments or many other of the allegations against me," she said. Fritz disputed claims that she was soft on ethics in city government since she was the council member who brought forth the proposal of implementing an ethics ordinance. She also said that "a couple of" the failed bond projects from the referendum could possibly be done in the future after the city rebuilds its cash reserves and with more support from the public. That could take "a good while," she said. Weed said his campaign committee was thrilled to be in the runoff and had no complaints. He said he and Chambers had a number of similarities in the way they planned to approach the office, and he plans to keep getting the word out about his agenda. Weed also said he feels it is important to respect the voters' wishes on the bond referendum recreation projects, although "some of the ideas behind those projects remain viable." He explained that the community center should be pursued as a joint venture with the county and the other surrounding municipalities.
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