Wednesday, May 15, 2002
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Wednesday, May 15, 2002 |
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PTC mayor on factions, freebies and funding I often talk about political factions in Peachtree City. I enjoy having factions because it cracks the issues wide open for discussion. It is fairly easy to recognize those who oppose my positions. My mayoral opponent, Gary Rower, and his campaign manager, John Dufresne, are the most vocal opponents in the newspaper. They have become a sort of McMenamin defense team on various issues. How amusing it is that the very group that complained about writing "negative" letters to the newspaper has become the reining champions at the craft. Mr. Dufresne opposes Dan Tennant's idea of placing the council meetings on the cable access channel. The irony is that Mr. Dufresne now brings his video camera to the meetings (You were right, Dan, and we'll get the meetings up and going soon). I do not mind them showering me with their combative verbiage. I ran for office knowing that I would have a fight on my hands on nearly everything that I propose. It is invigorating to challenge others on their positions and vice versa. However, I hated to see Mr. Dufresne drag innocent bystanders into the fray. Mr. Dufresne's prognostication regarding my soliciting discounts from retailers was untrue. I was coming out of City Hall one day and rushing to a very important meeting on behalf of the city. As I approached my minivan, the button popped off my blue sports coat. In a panic, I drove over to Jos. A. Bank and my good friend Issac Turner to see if their tailor could do a rush job on the button so that I could be appropriately dressed for the meeting. Much to my dismay, the tailor was out for the day. Mr. Turner told me not to worry and he quickly pulled a similar sport coat of the rack and had me try it on perfect fit. He then cut the tags off and I went on to represent the city while dressed appropriately. I brought the coat back the next day and thanked Mr. Turner for helping me in the clutch and allowing me to make a good impression on behalf of the city. Mr. Turner asked me if the city employees would be interested in participating in a group discount promotion as does the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Judicial Center and others. Since most of our city employees do not get paid what they are worth, I sent an e-mail to the City Council, city manager and city department heads asking for their input on the idea (mind you, NOT implementing the program, just asking for input). Mr. Dufresne turned the whole matter into a political favor scandal just because Mr. Turner had one of my campaign signs in his yard, as did 500-plus other people. Yes, I did write a letter of reference for Mr. Turner because he is a man of good character and a citizen of Peachtree City. Mr. Dufresne condemns me for this action. Interestingly, Mr. Dufresne's wife, a city employee, also had me write letters of reference for some of our local Key Club members trying to gain entry to prestigious universities. A few of those students' families also had my signs their yards, so I guess a political college entrance scandal is on the horizon. It is getting more and more difficult to determine what is a conflict of interest these days. I was reading up on the air show from 2001 and saw that Council member McMenamin was the honorary chairperson for the air show and a member of one of the organizations receiving funding from the event. With all that involvement, the city attorney still ruled that McMenamin could discuss and vote on the over $20,000 of taxpayer funding being requested by the show's sponsor. The air show is being audited this year and we will follow with an open discussion on emergency service and funding requirements for future shows. Again, we have another fairness in funding issue. To allow for full disclosure, since I have to attend formal black tie functions as a representative of the city, I did purchase a tuxedo from Jos. A. Bank. Just to let you know, I paid full price. It was worth every dime because the quality is outstanding and the service is second to none. Steve Brown Mayor, Peachtree City sbrown@peachtree-city.org
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