Ethics

complaint was motivated by concern for public's rights

The following letter

was written to attorney Andrew Whalen and the ethics

committee investigating the complaint against Dan

Tennant.

Filing an

ethics complaint against a fellow councilman is an uneasy

and complicated decision. In the nine-plus years I have

served on the City Council, I have served with two mayors

(Bob Lenox and the honorable Fred Brown) and eight

councilmen: David Good, Rich Parlontari, Ed Bradford, Bob

Brooks, Jim Pace, Caroline Price, Carol Fritz and now Dan

Tennant.

Prior to

January of this year, I never had cause to question the

intent of my fellow councilmen's actions. In January, I

called Mr. Tennant to offer my congratulations on his

taking the oath of office that evening at our regular

scheduled meeting. Mr. Tennant told me he wanted to get

along with everyone and wanted to work together in the

best interest of Peachtree City.

He also

stated that he very much wanted to be "part of the

inner circle." Not familiar with an "inner

circle," I asked him what he meant by that. He

responded, "You know, where you sit around and talk

about things and plan the meetings."

I responded

to Mr. Tennant, "We do not do that, Dan. That would

be a violation of the open meetings law."

Again, he

asked, "You mean you really don't discuss what is

going to happen at the next meeting?" I responded,

"No, we do not."

Shortly

thereafter, the city manager informed council that Dr.

Brooks was unable to attend either meeting in February

due to a conflict. Mr. Tennant then attempted to solicit

another council member's vote and to orchestrate the

decision concerning the selection of the city attorney in

February.

Because of

my abstaining in city attorney selections and Councilman

Brooks' absence, only two votes would have been a

majority. This prompted Councilman Fritz to recommend an

ordinance where it would require three votes (a majority

of council) to pass any motion.

It soon

followed on March 10, when I, collectively, with the

mayor and other council members, received an e-mail from

Mr. Tennant requesting our opinions, concerns,

discussions, etc. prior to the next meeting regarding an

ordinance he was introducing.

Mr.

Tennant's previous statements and actions to create an

"inner circle" and to predetermine decisions

that should be made in a public meeting concerned me. It

seemed to contradict one of the major platforms he used

to run for office - the public's business should be

conducted in public and in the public eye.

I was

unclear of Mr. Tennant's motivation to deviate from his

campaign promises. Did he attempt to create an

"inner circle" or was he trying to fabricate

the existence of one?

To reply to

his e-mail would have, in my opinion, contributed to

participation in a discussion which would predetermine

the outcome of a meeting. When another council member

called with concerns about Mr. Tennant's intentions of

asking for discussions "prior" to the meeting,

I moved forward to report a violation of ethics against

Mr. Tennant.

While I

have philosophically disagreed with the mayor and fellow

councilmen from time to time, prior to Jan. 1, I never

doubted their personal integrity or desire to serve in

the best interest of Peachtree City. Unfortunately, in my

opinion, this is no longer the case.

Council

must police and protect itself from violating the

public's trust and to be assured that we do not

participate in, nor give the appearance of participating

in any degradation of the oath of office we have taken

and position we hold as representatives of the citizens

of this city.

While I

sincerely believe the simple act of disseminating

information from one council member to the remaining

council members or from city staff to all council members

is not violating the open meetings law, I strongly

believe members should refrain from requesting additional

input from the remaining council members prior to an open

meeting in order to comply with open meetings law.

It has

always been my intention, regardless of the ethics

committee ruling, to discuss the ethics issue at the

council retreat on April 7. Because I believe it would be

inappropriate to discuss this prior to the formal

hearing, I have, today, instructed Mr. Basinger, the city

manager, and Nancy Faulkner, city clerk, to withdraw my

ethics complaint and have asked them to notify you of the

withdrawal.

originally filed the ethics violation with the best of

motivations. I believe that Mr. Tennant's e-mail,

combined with his other actions and statements, was an

attempt to at least violate the spirit of the open

meetings law.

Rather than

continue with the formal ethics complaint process, I will

ask council to discuss and clarify the city's ethics

ordinance and council meeting procedures ordinance during

the upcoming retreat in a more open and hopefully

productive forum.

I very much

appreciate the service of the committee and most

respectfully submit withdrawal of the ethics complaint.

Annie

McMenamin

City Council

Peachtree City