Wednesday, May 7, 2003

"Before I say anything else, I am a proud member of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.

A few weeks ago, I received an invitation from Mike Hofrichter, government liaison committee chairman of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, to attend a meeting on Friday, May 9, which was to be unstructured, but intended to foster better relations between the Chamber and elected representatives of Fayette County.

That letter was printed in the April 30 edition of this newspaper. I have accepted that invitation, since I see it to be a genuine effort to build harmony and mutual respect within our community.

I was surprised, however, to see letters from both [Peachtree City] Mayor [Steve] Brown and Councilman [Steve] Rapson printed alongside the Chamber's letter, neither of which were supportive of such a meeting. Mr. Rapson's letter basically raised his concerns about the potential impropriety of avoiding open meetings laws. Although I do not agree with his argument, I certainly respect Mr. Rapson personally and accept his position as valid and genuine.

What bothered me about the mayor's response to the Chamber's invitation was that it was indicative of his approach toward the Chamber. He evidently favors an antagonistic relationship with the Chamber and business in general, and continues to use an accusatory tone seemingly whenever possible when the Chamber is mentioned.

I learned a long time ago that if we insist on being judgmental, we are far better off judging the person or entity's intent rather than the action itself. It is clear to me that the Chamber's intent is simply to extend an olive branch to elected representatives of the people, despite the antagonistic atmosphere that has pervaded the relationship between business and government in Peachtree City over the past two and a half years, and to work together to solve problems for everyone's benefit.

The call for this meeting is hardly a conspiracy to keep information from the public or do make back-room deals. If that were the case, I would not so politely decline the invitation myself. I simply see no impropriety or potential impropriety in meeting with the community's business leaders. Good communications and honest dialogue are essential and vital in fostering harmony between business and government.

A fundamental question needs to be answered. Who is the Chamber of Commerce? Mayor Brown has continually stated that the Chamber is a special interest group. He is correct, of course. The Chamber's essential purpose is to look out for the needs of the business community, but certainly not to the detriment of the community as a whole. (A good example of this was the Chamber's strong support of the TDK Extension). Unfortunately, the mayor's use of the term "special interest group" conjures up an image of a sinister and untrustworthy organization whose sole purpose is to get what they want at the expense of others.

So, who is this Chamber? Well, it's made up of over 800 small businesses, virtually all of whose owners live and work here. The Chamber, quite simply, is you and me. It's State Farm agent Mark Gray. It's Kwik Copy owners John and Laura Musil. It's Arnie and Liz Geiger of Arnie's Fine Wine and Liquors. Hardly a bastion of conniving, corporate predators, wouldn't you say?

As for the mayor's inflammatory comments about the proposed "secret meetings," there are many examples where elected officials are called upon to meet with groups to listen to the groups' concerns about an issue. It's one of the ways representative government works in this country.

Nobody ever complained when I met repeatedly with a homeowner's association to listen to their concerns. Nobody complained when Councilman [Murray] Weed and I met with a subcommittee of the Development Authority dozens of times to iron out a solution to their problems. Nobody complained when the mayor and I met with a group of Golf View residents to hear their concerns. The list goes on and on. And the press was nowhere to be found in any of these "secret meetings."

Yet as soon as a polite invitation is made to all elected representatives in Fayette County from the Chamber of Commerce, the flickering flame of good community relations turns into a raging wildfire of suspicion.

The irony in all of this is the Chamber has bent over backwards to avoid the appearance of any impropriety by deliberately inviting only two members of any governing body to be at any one meeting so that a majority of that body would not be present. The Chamber supports open meetings and adherence to all sunshine laws. The mayor's remarks would have you believe otherwise.

Steve Brown is not a bad guy. I think he works hard in a relatively thankless job and, like the rest of us, ought to be given the benefit of the doubt when possible. The only problem is that there is very little doubt interpreting his comments relative to the Chamber or, for that matter, a number of other subjects.

I will gladly go to the noon meeting on May 9 to meet with the Chamber's committee on government relations. No apologies, no hesitation, no worry here. I will go in with my eyes and ears wide open with no ulterior motive of any kind other than to listen and try to do the right thing for the community as a whole, as I have done for the past four years.

If you think we should not have a good relationship with the Chamber of Commerce, then I am not your man in this November's election. Vote for someone else.

If the mayor continues to criticize and shun this organization, then it is he who will find out "who loves him" in 2005.

Dan Tennant

Mayor Pro Tem

Peachtree City

dtennant@peachtree-city.org