To me, the operative word in

"sexual harassment" is "harassment." And, I feel that

such harassment would have to be a persistent effort to cause adversity

for me. I want to be very clear in no uncertain terms was Councilman Tennant

ever guilty of harassing me. To my knowledge, he has never used his position

of power in any way to try to control or damage my career, livelihood,

integrity or reputation. I suggest to you that any allegations being thrown

at him in that regard have been thrown at him from glass houses.

I have been shocked and devastated

appear to have consistently used their position of power and influence

in a methodical attempt to destroy my life, chosen profession, and reputation

for their own political agendas. I have yet to conclude whether or not

the main political agenda was to deter open government in our community,

or if it was merely retaliation against me for refusing to take part in

an unwarranted sexual harassment allegation against Mr. Tennant. I have

now come to a personal conclusion that the motive for such allegations

against Mr. Tennant was to provide information in a dissertation concerning

Tennant entitled "Portrait of a Liar."

On Oct. 31, 2000, [Council

member] Annie McMenamin, [Mayor] Bob Lenox, [City Manager] Jim Basinger

and [City Attorney] Rick Lindsey did indeed meet, discuss and evidently

agree upon a strategy to terminate my employment with the city. I learned

of this meeting as I successfully defended a disciplinary action filed

against me on Oct. 20, 2000, concerning an open records request that I

filed on Sept. 4, 2000, that asked for information about the proposed

pay plan study.

My request for information

about the pay plan study originally had nothing to do with my salary appeal

because I had no knowledge an appeal would be necessary. I filed the request

because an ongoing, half-million dollar expenditure was submitted to council

from the city manager and director of administrative services without

any financial details to substantiate such.

I had asked for this information

from the finance director several times in my official capacity as city

clerk and keeper of the records, but he advised that the director of administrative

services told him that the information did not exist.

The thought that our finance

director had not been given the opportunity to scrutinize such a substantial

expense concerned me, and I had learned from experience that things were

not always done in an open and honest fashion where personnel matters

were concerned.

Another matter that concerned

me about the pay plan was that staff had told council that the Atlanta

Regional Commission (ARC) could not conduct the survey as they had in

the past. When I verified that the ARC was indeed available to conduct

the study at no cost, I suspected staff's intention to solicit bids and

recommend the expenditure of $25,000 for an out-of-state consultant (who

was not the low bidder) to conduct the study was to ensure customized

service with controlled results. I felt a moral obligation to pursue the

matter with an open records request.

Ironically, on Sept. 5, 2000,

just one day after I submitted my open records request and just a few

short months after I received an outstanding performance evaluation, the

city manager began to document statements and false allegations that were

being made against me. The documentation clearly outlines a plan to take

action against me, up to and including my termination, by appointing the

city manager as the city clerk in January. The rational for such was that

my termination would have to be placed on a public agenda as long as I

was appointed by council.

The city manager's documentation

stated that the basis for such termination was that McMenamin had said

I had confided in her that I had lied under oath to protect Dan Tennant's

reputation from sexual harassment allegations, and that I had supposedly

asked her to lie for me about obtaining information about the pay plan.

I emphatically deny both allegations.

In any event, the mayor continued

with the Oct. 31 plan to appoint Jim Basinger as city clerk when he made

a motion to do so in January.

Ironically, at the next meeting,

it was McMenamin who used the argument of sexual discrimination to try

and convince Lenox to reappoint me as city clerk. And soon after, she

did not support my pay plan appeal, although she had initially encouraged

me to file such with specific instruction to take the appeal all the way

to council so that she could publicly address some of the issues surrounding

the entire pay plan study.

During the time of the disciplinary

appeal, a severance package was suggested to me. I would not consider

it at the time because I loved my job and I knew I had done nothing wrong.

I considered my first priority to protect the interest of my citizens

and I had the false impression that my appeal was more about protecting

open government in our community than it was protecting myself.

After successfully defending

the disciplinary action, council began discussing the charter, the city's

form of government, and how they should view the position of city clerk.

I felt that the mayor's opinion on the subject was clouded by his personal

feelings and that it was in the city's best interest if council were allowed

to make such an important decision about the position without having to

consider the person in the position.

So, after 12 years of service

and many months of adversity, I finally realized that it would be best

if I resigned and found a more healthy work environment. I had no idea

where I would go or what I would do. I felt it would be impossible to

find a city clerk position with a city close enough to allow me to continue

living in Peachtree City, so, I approached the mayor, through the city

attorney, about the severance package that had been suggested earlier.

The severance package and joint

agreement to terminate my employment gave the city the opportunity to

address the management structure problem that caused the impediments of

having a city clerk with responsibility, but no authority, support or

guidance. It also gave me the resources to further my education and, thankfully,

the time and opportunity to find a wonderful new job in a healthy productive

work environment.

As disheartening as recent

events have been, we should not dismiss all of the good things that we

have to be thankful for in our city. I want to publicly thank [council

members] Carol Fritz, Bob Brooks, and Dan Tennant for all they have done.

Although I believe there is still a long way to go, Carol Fritz should

be given full credit for making great strides in promoting open government

in our community.

No one will ever agree with

every decision made by an elected official, but as someone who has worked

on the inside of our local government for the past 12 years, I assure

you that Ms. Fritz is the most dedicated person I have ever met in researching

issues and making informed decisions, in spite of the impotent flow of

information that comes her way.

Bob Brooks was always the voice

of reason and I feel a great amount of gratitude toward him for ensuring

that I was treated fairly and that the disciplinary action was dismissed.

Without his integrity and personal commitment to the truth, I feel certain

that my situation would have turned out much worse.

I do not believe his decision

in January to support the appointment of the city manager as the city

clerk had anything to do with the plan to terminate me because Lenox did

a fine job of making the argument that having an independent city clerk

to provide checks and balances in our government was similar to Russian

communism and that my reappointment would somehow undermine the powers

that be. Even with my firsthand knowledge of the situation and the purpose

of having a city clerk, I was almost mesmerized with Lenox's arguments.

Brooks has truly proven himself,

to me, to be a fine man who was willing to stand up for what was right.

I am sure he will continue to do a fine job of serving our community with

his recent appointment on the Development Authority, despite Mayor Lenox's

objection.

The personal adversities I

have faced recently have been difficult; however, I will strive to follow

Dan Tennant's example of having strong fortitude and a friendly and forgiving

nature. Perhaps the author of the dissertation concerning Mr. Tennant

should note these admirable qualities and give thought to the dissertation's

title for his own autobiography instead.

Annie McMenamin was once my

mentor and one of my closest friends. I attribute her involvement in recent

events to what I can only hope was a misunderstanding of great proportion.

I am not as naive as I once was, but for me to believe otherwise is beyond

my comprehension. I have always known her to be a benevolent woman of

integrity and strength. She has my unsolicited forgiveness and in about

40 years I may be able to forget, as well. I am greatly saddened by the

loss of her friendship, but I will always cherish what we once shared

and wish her well in her future endeavors.

And, as for Mayor Lenox, he

has his good qualities too. I admire his ability to influence people and

situations. He is a wonderful public speaker, and he is a businessman

of great intelligence. I am grateful for his final decision to help me

leave my employment with the city in a positive direction. The Dale Carnegie

classes he sent me to have been invaluable to me and I look forward to

the opportunity to further my education.

There are many qualified, good-hearted

and decent employees and elected officials who work for our fine city.

My thoughts and prayers are with them as I wonder who will be the next

victim of the political venom that festers inside our local government.

I'm not certain if promoting

a city clerk from within or hiring one from the outside would be best.

There are pros and cons to both scenarios. A certified and seasoned city

clerk would be a great asset to our city, but he/she may become disillusioned

if expecting support from council and management to get the job done.

Perhaps an existing employee

will be better accustomed to the micromanaging criticism and discouragement

of motivation that I faced. I'm sure that [newly appointed Councilman]

Steve Rapson's prior experience as a city employee (finance director)

has given him the insight needed to initiate positive changes and insure

that existing problems are not compounded. His vote on the appointment

of our next city clerk should give us some indication if he is the type

of proactive leader that we need to elect in November.

I want to publicly thank all

of my friends, and the many citizens who have expressed their concern

and support for me over the past few months. It has certainly been a trying

time, but your words of encouragement and appreciation have been comforting.

Your cards and e-mails gave me courage to survive one of the worst periods

of my life.

One of you sent me a card with

the following words: "When one door of happiness closes, another

opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see

the one which has been opened before us." Helen Keller.

Well, my eyes have been opened

and I see that I have many wonderful friends and opportunities. I look

forward to the next chapter of my life with enthusiasm.

Nancy Faulkner

Peachtree City