Dan Tennant and his supporters gathered at his house Tuesday night hoping to eventually celebrate a spot in the City Council runoff election. It never happened.

That's because Tennant won the Post 2 race outright, racking up 51 percent of the vote against Chuck Lehman and Bruce Perlman. Tennant will succeed Jim Pace, who chose not to run for a second term after beating write-in candidate Tennant in 1995.

Annie McMenamin held onto her seat from Post 1 by defeating Melvin Ewing with nearly 70 percent of the vote.

More than 4,400 voters went to the polls in Peachtree City Tuesday, a sharp increase from the 3,423 who came out in 1997, when the mayor's seat and two City Council spots were at stake. There were 16,136 eligible voters in the city this week, according to city clerk Nancy Faulkner.

Both Tennant and McMenamin won all 12 precincts.

Going into Tuesday, there did not seem to be a clear favorite in the Post 2 race, but nearly everyone involved expected a runoff. “All of us were astonished,” said Tennant after his camp learned that it would not be necessary.

The final results were announced at the Fayette County election office at about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. Tennant said he found out through the city's Web site, which he was monitoring along with the local cable television station, about 45 minutes later.

The first report showed Tennant with 54 percent of the vote after six precincts reported. “That was the first thing we saw,” he said. “We couldn't believe it.”

Saying, “We just didn't know where we stood,” Tennant added that his goal was simply to get into a runoff with either Lehman or Perlman.

“It's a humbling experience,” he said of his win. “I've been entrusted by the people to carry on their desires, and we're going to do it. They sent the message loud and clear.”

He is planning to start almost immediately getting prepared for his new position. He has already been contacted by city manager Jim Basinger and will be meeting with city officials in the next week or two to get better acclimated.

“My goal is to hit the ground running in January,” he said. “I wish Chuck and Bruce the best.”

Post 1

Annie McMenamin — 3,060 (68.7%)

Melvin Ewing — 1,391 (31.3%)

Post 2

Dan Tennant — 2,319 (51.1%)

Chuck Lehman — 1,203 (26.5%)

Bruce Perlman — 1,019 (22.4%)

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