Perception is everything in

politics. Language, demeanor, image, and behavior all work in concert

to shape our perception.

Most voters and taxpayers aren't

likely to scramble over to their local municipality to make a bunch of

open record requests every time they want to express an opinion about

local government decisions. They certainly could, and some do, but in

no manner is their right to offer commentary on local politics impaired

because they don't invest the same time in the issues as local elected

officials.

I can speak for no one but

myself, but here's how I've read the last several months in the local

political arena. Remember, perception is everything in politics.

The city governments and the

county government don't get along at all. Each side seems to think that

they are the most knowledgeable and the most accurate in their judgment.

The county wants the cities to pay to house inmates in the county jail

that all county residents are already paying for. The county would like

to assess impact fees to help defray some of the individual homeowner

expense, but all of the cities would have to agree and they don't. The

reason they don't agree is because the cities feel like they shouldn't

have to pay extra to house prisoners in the jail they're already paying

for. Score one for the cities.

Then, along comes the county

and rezones a bunch of property zoned agricultural-residential to commercial

retail space to add a shopping center with a grocery store and a bunch

of other stores that we don't need right on the southern tip of Peachtree

City. Perception? Payback. It doesn't have to really be payback. That's

how the public sees it. Score one for the county.

Enter Peachtree City Mayor

Bob Lenox, who rails on and on in local newspapers at the terrible zoning

decision that the county commission made on Ga. Highway 74 South. He called

the decision the worst piece of rezoning in Fayette County history. And

the Peachtree City residents, especially those on the south side, are

saying the same thing to themselves. But do they rally in behind the mayor

and cheer him for saying exactly what they think?

No. Why? Because the Peachtree

City residents think he's just a big old hypocrite pot calling the county

kettle black. Peachtree City residents think the worst piece of "rezoning"

ever to hit Fayette County is the Wal-Mart 200,000-plus square-foot super

center on the westernmost point of the city.

Granted, it's not the same

scenario. The Wal-Mart property was already zoned commercial, but remember,

perception is everything. Peachtree City residents don't want a Wal-Mart,

and they are not happy when they envision the inevitable crime, traffic,

and economic hardship for hometown independent businesses that will inevitably

follow. Score one for the big corporations.

Now reenter Peachtree City

Mayor Bob Lenox who rails on and on.

It seems he wants to leave

a legacy of his 10-year term, and truthfully he's held the wheel steady

a lot of the time. Peachtree City is a wonderful place to live. Despite

the attempted annexation that most residents didn't want, and despite

the nasty Wal-Mart that nobody wants, Peachtree City is still a "great

place to call home."

So rather than leave us on

a note of accord, where residents actually agree with his railing on and

on at the county, and satisfying himself with the industry he's helped

to lure and the facilities he's helped to build, he would rather leave

us with an ominous warning. Average citizens, the so-called 90 percent

of satisfied, happy residents, better pay attention, he says, or come

November, they'll wake up and find "the crazies running city hall."

I tried for two weeks not to

comment on what for a columnist just begs for comment, but then he railed

on and on until he finally said that "we don't want the inmates running

the asylum." Score one for the ruling elite.

And so he has his legacy now.

He is the mayor who fancied himself the warden.

The satisfied 90 percent DO

love Peachtree City, and that is precisely why they fight tooth and nail

against small-town destroyers like Wal-Mart supercenters and high density

rezonings.

They KNOW that we have something

special here, and that's why they don't just sit back and quietly condone

decisions which threaten their community. That doesn't make them crazy,

it makes them the sanest inmates around. It's exactly what any rational

human being would do under the circumstances.

If it weren't for the 10 percent

who kept a watchful eye on local government happenings, city and county,

I don't think there would be a 90 percent satisfaction rating at all.

In politics, perception is

everything. If you want to earn the respect of citizens and voters, show

them respect in kind. Score one for the people.

Education First Watch:

Robert Brooks has requested a rezoning from A-R to PUD-PRD to develop

an additional 63 lots in the Whitewater Creek Community. If approved,

the rezoning could add an additional 95 students to the schools at the

south complex. To comment, call the Fayette County Zoning Department at

770-460- 5730.

[Your comments are welcome:

[email protected].]