When hats are

thrown in the ring for the upcoming Peachtree City mayoral race, Annie

McMenamin will keep hers on.

McMenamin declared

at Thursday night's council meeting that she will finish her final term

as councilwoman instead of running for mayor. She hopes her early announcement

will help other qualified mayoral (and council) candidates make their

decisions about stepping forward.

An acquaintance

told McMenamin that her decision was "selfish," and she said

it probably was. But she also cited a commitment to the voters who elected

her to serve a four-year term on council.

"Fulfilling

the obligations I made to the voters is the main thing," McMenamin

said Monday morning.

Admitting she'd

like to see a female candidate in the race, McMenamin also said she wants

someone with an open mind at the helm.

"I hope

someone comes forward without an agenda, who believes fact, not fiction,

and can look at all the parameters of the issue," McMenamin said.

"Any candidate who has all the answers doesn't know all the questions."

McMenamin's

ideal candidate would also cooperate well with other agencies such as

county governments, the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Atlanta

Regional Commission.

"It's

a very enjoyable experience," McMenamin said. "And there are

so many qualified people in this community. The negative emphasis dissuades

people, but it's really not a negative position."

McMenamin's

decision insures a degree of stability for council after the upcoming

November election. At least three seats are up for grabs: the mayor's

post and two council posts currently held by Carol Fritz and Steve Rapson.

Mayor Bob Lenox will depart after serving the maximum two terms on council.

The only way

another seat could become vacant is if councilman Dan Tennant decides

to run for mayor, thereby vacating his post.

McMenamin has

been on council since she was originally appointed in June 1990; she won

her first election months later to retain the seat. An acquaintance called

her decision not to run "selfish," which McMenamin admits. It

certainly was a relief to her family, even though they would have supported

her candidacy, she said.

Though she's

sitting out of the battle for mayor, don't count McMenamin out. She still

has two and a half years left on council.

"You can

accomplish a lot as a council member. You don't have to be mayor,"

McMenamin said. "I love campaigning, but thirteen and a half years

is a long time for someone to be in public office."

While council's

job is made easier by city staff and volunteer groups like the Planning

Commission which do a lot of the leg work, there are some tough decisions

facing council in the coming months, McMenamin said.

The first issue

will be the fate of projects that will be proposed in the bond issue referendum

in November. A community center, one of the potential projects on the

list, "would be a tremendous asset to the city," McMenamin said.

"It would enable us to do a lot more things and expand programs that

have nowhere to go."

City finances

are also a crucial matter, with little room in the budget to keep the

millage rate (and property taxes) down as council has done in the past,

McMenamin said.

Moving along

the project to extend TDK Boulevard into Coweta County is also important,

McMenamin said. The road would serve as an alternate route from Coweta

to the Peachtree City industrial park, and if the city didn't need cooperation

from other agencies, the road would have been built some time ago, McMenamin

said.

That project

should be in place before Ga. Highway 54 is widened to four lanes, and

something must be done when that happens to keep traffic from cutting

through Planterra Ridge subdivision, she added.

The recent

decision to purchase the Drake Field area between City Hall and Lake Peachtree

was also important, McMenamin said. The land had been zoned commercial,

but now it will remain in its current use, as a recreation area, she added.

"I do

think Bob Lenox will be remembered in the long term as a mayor who accomplished

a lot for this city," McMenamin said.

The veteran

councilwoman had been asked to run for mayor, and in her statement during

Thursday's council meeting, McMenamin thanked those who supported her.

"I think

it was the best thing to do for me," she said. "I just didn't

want to add responsibility to an already overburdened family."

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