I was very disappointed to read the article that headlined your Jan. 1, 2014 edition of The Citizen, the article which uses snide personal attacks from Mr. Barlow, a fellow Fayette County commissioner, to malign Commission Chairman Steve Brown.
Surely Steve deserves better than to be tarred with the scandalous brush of someone with an obvious vendetta against him.
So the Atlanta Regional Commission “despises” Steve Brown? Are we to take Mr. Barlow’s word for that, or did anyone actually contact a member of the Atlanta Regional Commission to find out what the real situation was?
Mr. Barlow also had an issue with Steve Brown’s desire to fire Water System Director Tony Parrott this past year because of the problems this summer that made all of our water taste and smell like it came from a dirty, fetid swamp pond.
As I recall, this went on for weeks. Our family is still drinking bottled water, as we have lost our trust in the public water system in Fayette County.
I’m happy an accommodation was made that saved Mr. Parrott’s job, but asking for his termination instead due to the scandalous situation at the water plant was surely not unreasonable.
Steve Brown has worked hard for our community for years. All of you may not agree with everything he’s done, or support some of his decisions, but I’m confident that he has consistently done what he thinks is the right thing to do for the Fayette County citizens he was elected to represent.
He is articulate; he has a vision for our community, and he has fought for fiscal discipline and sensible, planned growth for our county. He has always been responsive to his constituents’ concerns, and I believe he’s done a good job in his position as Fayette County Board of Commissioners Chairman.
Our elected representatives work hard on our behalf and I believe they need to be treated with the respect they deserve. It is difficult enough to find good people to run, and if we are constantly sniping and criticizing them publicly and unfairly, no one will be willing to expose themselves to the public vituperation our community leaders constantly face.
Let’s be bigger than this.
Gail Bateman
Peachtree City, Ga.
