An article by a lifestyle columnist in the Oct. 13 edition of The Citizen contained several highly inflammatory and offensive labels regarding my character. I have never met nor have I ever spoken to the columnist, but I was very disappointed with her remarks. Fortunately, in the same issue, the newspaper's editor and publisher wrote an editorial in my defense. He rightly proclaimed the columnist's remarks to be “mean-spirited, self-righteous, and insupportable... and a fatuous leap of ideology-blinded illogic.”

The matter at hand related to how I answered a question from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as to why I want to run for city council. This one response has been extracted out of the sum total of all of my responses to the newspapers and in recent debates. Unfortunately, the columnist made several accusations, yet in no way were they substantiated by any facts whatever. It is very disheartening to be placed in this position.

Let me be absolutely crystal clear on the intent of my comment. I intended to assert that as a married, average income professional raising children in a Christian environment, I most closely approximate the typical Peachtree City family. I am working and raising kids, and I understand the needs and desires of ordinary citizens. As a result, I will serve the needs of average citizens well on city council — plain and simple.

I certainly never intended to imply I was the only Christian in the race, and if it were interpreted as such, I deeply apologize. In fact, Chuck Lehman and I attend the same church in Peachtree City and I know him to be a fine Christian man. In addition, I am respectful of all other religious faiths. I personally subscribe deeply to my Judeo-Christian heritage (my grandparents were Jewish), and my faith in God is the most important thing in my life. I think voters have a right to know where I stand.

Any sinister attempt to interpret my statements as to somehow imply a racist, elitist or religious bias, particularly for political exploitation, is reprehensible and shameful. If, however, my remarks were genuinely and sincerely misconstrued to reflect an attitude other than what I intended, I deeply apologize, and I sincerely regret what was evidently a poor choice of words.

My campaign theme on the back cover of my brochure is “One of us. For all of us.” That means that while I am representative of a typical Peachtree City family, I certainly intend to represent all the people in a fair and just way.

I profess my faith in Jesus Christ, and for that I offer no apology. Elections come and elections go; candidates come and candidates go; but my faith in God is here to stay. As for the columnist's assault on my character, I was deeply hurt, but I forgive her as Christ taught us to forgive.

I offer an open invitation to all citizens of Peachtree City to please call (770-631-7712), fax (770-631-2966) or e-mail (DanTennant@aol.com) me with any questions that you may have regarding my position on any issue. It would be an honor to speak directly to you.

Daniel R. Tennant
Peachtree City

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