Fayette County Commission candidate Eric Maxwell has denied a charge from opponent Greg Dunn that Maxwell is a developer.

“Mr. Maxwell, the trial attorney, turns out to also be Mr. Maxwell, the developer,” Dunn said in an essay e-mailed to The Citizen last week.

Maxwell, a Fayetteville attorney, confirmed Friday that he has half ownership in a development company that holds only one property, both of which he disclosed on a campaign election filing that is a public record.

However, in his disclosure form, he omitted the word, “Development,” from the legal name of his company. The company he listed, C&E, Inc., does not appear in the records kept by the Georgia Secretary of State.

Maxwell also serves on the board of directors of another company, Autera Properties, Inc., an association that did not show up in his disclosure documents. However, Maxwell listed a $2,000 donation from chiropractor Matt Autera.

The parcel Maxwell mentioned is a 37-acre tract in Coweta County that Maxwell said he uses for hunting and riding his four-wheeler.

Maxwell said he hoped, at some point in the future, to make a profit when selling the property, located east of Senoia, but there are no immediate plans to take such action, he said.

“I am not a developer,” Maxwell told The Citizen in an interview Friday morning. “I am an attorney.”

In a campaign essay that was submitted past The Citizen’s deadline for publication, Dunn accused Maxwell of “failing to reveal his strong ties and membership in the development community.”

Dunn said Monday that even though Maxwell and C&E Development, Inc., only owns one property, he still contends Maxwell should be more upfront about his “sinewy connections to developers.”

“Can you imagine if I had become a partner in a development company?” Dunn said in an interview Monday, ruminating on the controversy that might stir since he is serving not only as the Post 5 member on the board of commissioners but also as its chairman. Dunn said he didn’t have any business or financial ties to any development or industrial entity.

The property ownership was included in his financial disclosure statement, which each candidate is required to file, but he listed the company as C&E, Inc., not as C&E Development Corporation, which is its true, legal title.

Maxwell said he didn’t intend to incorrectly list the company’s name, but he has always called it “C and E” which represents the initials of his and his friend’s first names.

Maxwell also listed himself as owner of that Coweta tract of land, which is off Ga. Highway 85 North outside Senoia.

Dunn also accused Maxwell of failing to list the fact that he is on the board of directors for Autera Properties, a company that owns a chiropractic building in Fayetteville.

The law requires candidates to disclose if they hold a fiduciary position or direct ownership in a business entity, and in this case Maxwell said he has no ownership or financial duties, although he is on the board of directors, Maxwell said.

“I have never handled a penny of their money, or received any pay from Autera’s money, and I do not have an ownership interest,” Maxwell said.

Dunn countered that being on the board of directors is reason enough to list the position on the disclosure report.

Maxwell is an attorney who also works part-time as the municipal court judge for Peachtree City. Dunn is retired from a military career, but lists on his disclosure report that his employment is as a county commissioner. Dunn also discloses that he is a minority partner in the World’s Gym in Fayetteville and he has more than $10,000 invested in Exxon Mobil.

Dunn said he didn’t think there was anything wrong with Maxwell co-owning a development company or serving as the registered agent for other development companies, which is commonplace for attorneys to do.

“I didn’t say he did anything wrong,” Dunn said, noting that he only questioned the appropriateness of Maxwell’s disclosure statement. “... I never had any problems with Eric, until he started calling me names and everything.”

Maxwell, who lives on a 37-acre estate off Redwine Road, said he once purchased 10 acres near his home after learning that a developer wanted to buy that parcel.

Maxwell has contended that he wants to follow the county’s land use plan, with larger lots on the county’s south side and lots of one acre or more on the north side.

Maxwell also defended Dunn’s criticism of his support for a senior housing project that would have been located near Fayette Community Hospital that would have featured more than 3,000 homes on more than 1,200 acres along Sandy Creek Road for seniors 55 and over. It would have had an amenities clubhouse and an 18-hole golf course.

Maxwell said that development wouldn’t have any impact on the county’s schools, and noted that seniors typically don’t use many police services, although they would be expected to use the EMS services a little more than regular subdivisions. He also said it was smart to locate that subdivision near Piedmont Fayette Hospital.

The project was turned down by the commission earlier this year, and it would have needed sewer service from the city of Fayetteville for it to be developed.

Dunn said that project would have gone against the county’s land use plan and zoning regulations, which require a minimum lot size of one acre.

The County Commission generally has resisted attempts to provide sewer service to parcels located in the unincorporated county, which is a natural inhibitor to growth because the other option of installing a septic system requires a minimum lot size of one acre.

The county even sued Tyrone in an attempt to block the town from getting sewer access from Fairburn. The suit failed, however, and the county also recently allowed a subdivision south of Peachtree City to hook onto the city’s sewer system, although that was in large part due to a state law requiring developments to hook up to sewer service if they are within 500 feet of a sewer line.