Peachtree City Councilman Dan

Tennant wants to take a second look at council's decision to replace Planning

Commission member Willis Granger with a new appointee.

Tennant claims that politics

may have played a role in the decision to pass over Granger and appoint

Dennis Payton to the commission.

But two of Tennant's fellow

council members think council did nothing wrong in appointing Payton.

Robert Brooks and Carol Fritz both said there was no effort to oust Granger

and both indicated they thought the appointment was handled appropriately.

Council unanimously approved

the appointment (with Fritz absent) at its last meeting upon the recommendation

of a three-person committee.

But Tennant said Monday that

he wants council to reconsider its action if that's even possible.

Tennant suggested that the

committee decided not to recommend Granger "for political motivations"

since he was anti-density and against annexation.

Payton was recommended by a

three-person committee consisting of Mayor Bob Lenox, Councilwoman Annie

McMenamin and City Manager Jim Basinger. The committee interviewed each

candidate after receiving resumes from each person.

Tennant said he would have

opposed selecting Payton had he known that Granger re-applied for a second

term. He requested that the matter be placed on council's agenda for Thursday's

meeting so it could be discussed.

"I think Mr. Granger deserves

to be given another look," Tennant said, adding that Granger "has

a lot of guts and is willing to stand up for what's right."

Fritz, who wasn't present at

the previous council meeting when the appointment was handled, said there

was no conspiracy against Granger.

"If I thought there was

a conspiracy, I'd be in their faces about it," Fritz said.

Brooks said council's goal

was to choose the "most qualified" person for the appointment.

If council decided to automatically

reappoint Granger, that would have sent a message to citizens that their

services weren't wanted, Brooks and Fritz both said.

"He's not the first person

who has been replaced," Brooks said, recalling that several years

ago another Planning Commission member was replaced despite having one

term left to serve.

Brooks said he hadn't heard

any negative comments on Granger's performance on the Planning Commission.

"We have so many qualified

people in this town," Brooks said.

Brooks also pointed out that

he didn't sit in on the individual interviews with the candidates.

"It was one of those things

where they made the recommendation and that's how I voted," Brooks

said.

Because so many qualified people

applied, Fritz said she would have had difficulty picking someone to serve

on the commission.

"I just don't see this

as a situation," Fritz said. "I'm comfortable with the process

and comfortable with their selection. I have never met Mr. Payton, but

he was their choice.

"I have been looking for

conspiracies here for almost three years, but there aren't any. I don't

think anyone has the time to create them."

Tennant blamed himself for

not asking the right questions, but he also said he wasn't provided with

a copy of each candidate's application.

"It was my fault that

I was not aware Willis had re-applied," Tennant said. "I had

assumed he hadn't. I didn't ask for the information and I was not on the

selection committee."

Tennant said he wants council

to change the appointment process so it can be held in public.

"If it takes a public

hearing to make appointments, so be it," Tennant said. "...

It's shameful and disgraceful that things seemingly rubber stamped by

council are done so routinely."