Friday, January 2, 2004
|
Friday, January 2, 2004 |
|
Rutherford’s last day on job Friday By J. FRANK LYNCH Judi-ann Rutherford will walk away quietly from her job as office manager of the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater today. She’ll be sworn in Monday to replace Annie McMenamin at Post 1 on the Peachtree City Council. Among the very first items of business for the council Monday is consideration of changes to the articles of incorporation and bylaws for the Peachtree City Tourism Association, the group opposed by McMenamin and former Post 2 Councilman Dan Tennant, who will be replaced Monday by Stuart Kourajian. Rutherford said she will abstain from discussing or voting on any Tourism Association business Monday, though she sees no violation of ethics rules. “I will choose to recuse myself,” Rutherford said Monday. “Whatever happens, happens.” That attitude has served Rutherford well to this point. Declaring her run for City Council in September, the Maine native insisted throughout the campaign that her job at the amphitheater was not in conflict with serving on the council. That position remained correct, legally anyway, until McMenamin and Tennant forced a halt to a proposal for the Tourism Association to take over the amphitheater and tennis center operations from the city on Dec. 1. The 11th-hour alternative of the city taking on the venue employees temporarily forced Rutherford to choose between her job or the council seat, since the city charter forbids elected officials from being employed by the city in any fashion. The volunteer tourism board of directors is chaired by Councilman Steve Rapson and co-chaired by Councilman Murray Weed, and includes City Manager Bernard McMullen and Finance Director Paul Salvatore. Plans are still in the works for the nonprofit Tourism Association to assume responsibility for the venues and employees in mid-January, but Rutherford is uncommitted about whether or not she intends to try and get her job back. “It would not be wise to make assumptions at this point,” said Rutherford. “I have never assumed I would be offered my old job back.” She has sent out resumes and is promoting herself on the job search engine Monster.Com, she said. If her old position is still available come mid-January and she remains unemployed, she will consider any alternatives. “Would I apply right now, if they said it’s open and you are no longer a city employee?” she asked hypothetically. “Yeah, but there’s no guarantee I would get it, and there’s no telling what will come along between now and then.” Rutherford’s stint at the amphitheater started shortly after moving to Peachtree City seven years ago, volunteering for concerts and events. Her hard work caught the eye of Donna Romeo, who took over as manager of the amphitheater about two years ago. Romeo hired Rutherford “permanent part-time” as office manager, Rutherford said. At the time the prospect of benefits and health insurance for her and her husband was an incentive, but that isn’t an issue as she seeks a new job, Rutherford said. “I am no longer in the position to have to work for the benefits,” she said. “I came back to work two years ago partially for the benefits because he was self-employed as a consultant and traveled the country.” James Rutherford has since gone to work for a telecommunications firm that provides the benefit perk, she said. “That takes the benefits part out of my job search,” she said. “I need the income.” Rutherford joins the hunt for a job with her son, James, a McIntosh High grad who recently earned a degree in information systems from Georgia Southern. The Rutherfords also have a married daughter who lives in Virginia with their first grandchild. While her husband will be there for the festivities Monday, Rutherford was unsure if either of their children will attend. Newly appointed City Judge James Maxwell will do the swearing in, she said. Had she known in September what she knows now, Rutherford said she likely wouldn’t have run for council. She has every reason to be angry or betrayed by City Hall, but isn’t showing it. “Certainly when I started this I didn’t think I would have to quit my job to serve,” she said. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have run. “I’ve just kept it real low key because of that,” she said. “The circumstances changed. When I was elected, I was not a city employee. I ran honestly believing I could serve and I intend to serve. “I made a choice, and I’ve always maintained that when you make a choice, you live by it. Choices aren’t always easy.”
|
||