It is an unfortunate sign of the times, but most Americans tend to question the motivations of those running for political office. While we all hope the candidate's only goal is to serve as the best representative of their constituents, there are many times when we question where the candidate's loyalties really lie.

Two candidates running for the Post 2 city council seat have received donations from an area real estate agent and a local home builder. These facts were published in the Citizen on Friday, Oct. 22.

While the concerns on most residents minds would appear to be the overdevelopment of our city and the strains this has put on our city's infrastructure, I worry that builders and real estate agents may not share those concerns. When a candidate receives donations from these sources you must wonder where their loyalty will be when questions regarding future growth come up. Will they stand up for the average Peachtree City resident or will they do what is best for those who financially supported their campaign?

I also grow concerned when I see one candidate raise and spend funds far in excess of what the other candidates have done. With a campaign war chest of over $13,000, Bruce Perlman has almost tripled the amount raised by the either of the other two candidates in his race, and has spent well over $6,000 in pursuit of this council seat so far. Call me a skeptic, but spending this kind of money on a local city council race raises some questions in my mind.

Mr. Perlman also paid almost $1,200 to a firm for “consulting” on the brochure he mailed out, and another $2,400-plus to print and mail that same brochure. I called that consultant, Landmark Communications of Duluth, Ga., and asked what type of consulting work they did for Mr. Perlman, as I was curious.

I was advised that they do “public relations work for candidates.” When I pressed for more information, I was told that they could not discuss the exact services they provided to any client, other than to say they did “design and layout” work on the campaign brochure.

Why on earth would a candidate need to spend all this money and use a public relations firm to put together a brochure to mail out to our city's residents? Mr. Perlman spent almost twice as much on his brochure as the other four candidates spent on their flyers combined. Must be one heck of a brochure.

This election could prove a turning point for our city. We can elect those who share our concerns for our city, or we can listen to PR firms and flashy brochures. Do we really want a consultant giving our council representative directions on important issues? If we did, would it not be wiser to just elect the PR firm for the council seat and eliminate the middleman? On Nov. 2 the choice is yours. Be sure to vote.

Steve Fodor
Peachtree City

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