UPDATED FOR PRINT Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011 — One half of Peachtree City’s City Council election has been decided well before election day. Smokerise resident Scott Brown Monday morning announced that he is withdrawing his candidacy for the Post 2 council seat. That leaves Robinson Woods Estates resident George Dienhart as the only remaining candidate for Post 2.
In an email to The Citizen, Brown briefly explained why he is backing out of the race.
“My family and I have made the decision that now is not the right time for me to run,” Brown said in the three-sentence email.
The decision came less than a day after Brown sent a letter to the editor of The Citizen that set the stage for his campaign.
With Brown out of the Post 2 race, that means voters will only have one decision to make at the polls in November: the Post 1 race between Bradford Estates resident Stephen Allen and incumbent Eric Imker. Imker is in the second year of two-year term that ends Dec. 31 this year.
Allen, a political newcomer, works in the field of information technology.
Meantime, candidates in November’s contested races in Fayetteville, Peachtree City and Tyrone will soon get a chance to have their say in front of the electorate. Candidate forums in Fayetteville and Tyrone will be sponsored by the Fayette Local Issues Tea Party while Peachtree City candidates will have a venue at the forum sponsored by the Peachtree City Rotary Club.
Tea party representative Leslie Edwards said her organization’s forums in Tyrone and Fayetteville will be structured to provide time for opening and closing remarks and have candidates respond to both prepared questions and those posed by the audience.
The candidate forum in Fayetteville will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 18 from 7-9 p.m. at Harvest Christian Community Church located at 383 Fayette Place, behind the La Hacienda restaurant on North Glynn Street in Fayetteville.
Fayetteville voters in November will see three contested races on the ballot. Those include the race for mayor and the Post 1 and 2 council seats.
Longtime Mayor Ken Steele will see competition from computer salesman Greg Clifton. In the council races, Post 1 incumbent Wilson Price will face educator and pastor Edward Johnson. And in Post 2, marketing director Cathy Cochran will square off against businessman Mickey Edwards.
The Tyrone forum will be held Tuesday, Oct. 11 from 7-9 p.m. at the Tyrone Depot located at 847 Senoia Road in Tyrone.
Candidates in Tyrone’s three contested races include Councilman Eric Dial and marketer Derrick L. Jackson for mayor. Post 1 candidates include bookkeeper Linda M. Howard and volunteer Tammy Proctor while the Post 2 race will feature career consultant Pota Coston and Hero Box founder Ryan Housley.
A forum will also be held for candidates running for office in Peachtree City. The Peachtree City Rotary Club will reschedule the forum planned for Oct. 4.
The Rotary candidate forum provides a venue for City Council candidates to introduce themselves to the public at large while also encouraging questions submitted by the audience.
The city’s only contested race will be for the Post 1 seat where Bradford Estates subdivision resident Stephen Allen will be pitted against incumbent Eric Imker. Allen lists his job as being in the field of information technology services.
The Post 2 race was expected to feature Robinson Woods Estates resident George Dienhart and Smokerise resident Scott Brown. But Brown announced Monday morning that he will no longer seek the office. That leaves Dienhart as the unopposed candidate for the council seat.
