So here is the story...

Unfortunately, I have recently

gone through a divorce. This is a highly personal and private matter,

and the only statement I will make on it is that divorce hurts, and while

I am saddened to have to experience it, I have kept the focus on loving

and nurturing my wonderful children.

Now this may get a bit confusing

to keep the players straight, but stay with me. One of the opposing attorneys

in my divorce was Leslie Wade. Leslie Wade coincidentally is married to

John Wade, an attorney for the firm of Webb, Stuckey and Lindsey, the

same firm I had voted to replace as city attorney earlier this year because

they were the high bidder.

Another attorney at the firm

is Susan Brown, daughter of Council member Annie McMenamin. It was McMenamin,

you may recall, who accused me of an absurd ethics violation a few months

ago (only to withdraw the accusation later) after I dared state that I

may run for mayor next year. Mrs. McMenamin, I believe, is absolutely

driven to run for and be elected mayor in November of next year, at any

costs. Indeed, if nobody else steps up to the plate to run against her

next year, I will.

The other opposing attorney

was Michelle Lundy, who, it is my understanding, strongly supported one

of my opponents in the most recent city council election.

You don't suppose Lundy and

Wade had ulterior motives in representing my ex-wife in the divorce, do

you? Draw your own conclusions.

You with me so far? It gets

much more interesting...

The last participant in this

story is Nancy Faulkner, who is city clerk of Peachtree City, who I understand

lived with Annie McMenamin for quite some time, and who is a good friend

of Susan Brown (the Webb, Stuckey and Lindsey attorney and daughter of

Mrs. McMenamin). Fortunately, Nancy Faulkner and I have had a good working

relationship since I was sworn into office in January.

Back to my divorce, which inexplicably

dragged on for nine months, much to my chagrin. I was informed on August

16 that Lundy and Wade had subpoenaed Nancy Faulkner to perform a deposition

in my divorce case.

I was dumbfounded as to why

in the world Ms. Faulkner would have any reason to be deposed in this

matter, but I was sure eager to find out, so I attended her Aug. 18 deposition

in the office of my attorney, Dolores Daniel, here in Peachtree City.

Remarkably, city attorney Rick

Lindsey was also there since ostensibly nobody knew if she was being deposed

in an official capacity as city clerk. So we now have a city employee

giving a deposition in my divorce case on city time, and the taxpayers

are paying Rick Lindsey $130 an hour to be there as well. A rather imprudent

use of public funds, wouldn't you say?

For over two hours, I witnessed

one of the most sickening events I have ever seen. I watched a lawyer

grill an innocent person, Nancy Faulkner, who had no interest in being

there, about my personal affairs, in an unsuccessful attempt to damage

my good reputation. Now understand, I was strictly an observer in the

matter, and was not permitted to utter a word, and I didn't.

It turns out that the bulk

of the important questions centered on what I believe the opposing attorney

tried to create, and that is a sexual harassment charge against me. It

all stemmed from a remark I was alleged to have made several months ago

when conversing with Ms. Faulkner about the sexual harassment charges

levied against former Fayetteville city manager Mike Bryant.

Evidently, Ms. Faulkner later

mentioned to Susan Brown and others something about the conversation,

although Ms. Faulkner clearly stated in her deposition that she did not

feel offended by anything I had said. Suffice it to say, I will not even

dignify their actions with a response, other than to tell you Ms. Faulkner

categorically and irrefutably stated under oath that at no time has she

ever felt sexually harassed by me.

As a matter of fact, city attorney

Rick Lindsey has recently completed an "investigation" of the

incident, and my name has been cleared and Ms. Faulkner again stated nothing

inappropriate had occurred. Case closed.

Except for one thing...you

can't attempt to damage a person's good name and not expect consequences.

So guess who I think was the

primary operative behind all this? If you guessed the daughter of Council

member Annie McMenamin, Susan Brown, whose employer is Webb, Stuckey and

Lindsey, you would be correct. Ms. Faulkner stated in sworn testimony

that Susan Brown asked her to testify against me in my divorce case, and

Ms. Faulkner said no.

Why would Susan Brown, Annie

McMenamin's daughter, have any interest in asking any person to testify

against me in my divorce? Hmmm? And more generically, is it not simply

absolutely stomach-turning that anyone might attempt to exploit a tragic

family hardship for political gain, especially at this level of government?

Understand that hearing the

questions asked during the deposition provided the first time I (and to

my knowledge Nancy Faulkner) had even heard about any such sexual harassment

talk, yet the supposed "victim" was Nancy Faulkner! And guess

what? When Ms. Faulkner did not answer the way the opposing attorney hoped

she might, the opposing attorney miraculously offered to settle the divorce

case right then. What a remarkable coincidence.

So we did settle the case right

then and there. Wade and Lundy came back from their little fishing expedition

they went on with an empty boat. Guess their Perfect Storm wasn't so perfect

after all.

So what role did McMenamin,

the council member who brought forth and later withdrew a frivolous and

politically motivated ethics charge against me, or anyone in the law firm

that I voted not to keep on as city attorney since they were the highest

bidder (and the same law firm that employs Susan Brown and the same firm

that sued Mr. Steve Brown and The Citizen newspaper for libel for Steve

Brown's letters to the editor) have in all of this? Your guess is as good

as mine, but it sure doesn't smell good, does it?

You wonder why people are cynical

about government? You wonder why more people don't get in the game and

serve their communities? You wonder why most people would rather spend

a week in jail than be president of the United States for a day? It's

because of horse manure like this.

Trust me, it would be a lot

simpler for me to just let this die and get on with my life. If I say

nothing, then nothing becomes of this matter and I never have to hear

the term "sexual harassment" and my name in the same sentence.

But you see, I have done nothing wrong. And I strongly feel it is incumbent

upon me to let you know what is going on. This kind of stuff has to end,

but it won't end if people think they can get away with it with no consequence.

If you challenge the power

structure in this town, if you stand up for what you believe in, if you

don't cave under pressure, if you fight for what is right, if you hold

your convictions close and honor your word, you stand a heck of a good

chance of making the old boy and old girl network in this town very uncomfortable.

But let me tell you something.

They can just keep on coming. They can accuse me of groundless ethics

violations, they can attempt to manufacture a nonexistent sexual harassment

case against me, they can blame me for the drought if they want to. But

I will never stop seeing to it that the concerns and needs of ordinary

citizens are heard and met. Period.

I will do whatever I have to

do to defend my own honor and to repress any evil or malicious acts against

innocent people, including but not limited to filing ethics charges and

bar complaints if necessary. In the meantime, just keep on firing away,

Power Structure of Peachtree City. Your days are numbered.

Thanks for listening, Boss.

Dan Tennant

Peachtree City Councilman

[email protected]