There was only

one clear winner after Tuesday's elections in Peachtree City: Steve Rapson,

who beat Nancy Faulkner for the post 3 city council seat by over a 2-1

margin.

The other races

are headed to the runoff election on Tuesday, Nov. 27, with the choice

between mayoral candidates Steve Brown and Gary Rower and post 4 candidates

Carol Fritz and Murray Weed.

Brown drew

46 percent of the vote, close but not quite enough, while Rower took home

22 percent, followed closely by Dan Lakly, now out of the race, at 21

percent. Frank Murphy drew 9 percent of the vote.

In the post

4 race, Weed out-drew Fritz 37 percent to 33 percent, but Alison Chambers

took 22 percent of the vote, spurring the runoff scenario. The other post

4 candidate, Gerald Ostrowski, garnered 6 percent.

But voters

were clear about the slate of proposed recreation projects on the various

bond referendum questions. None passed, although the initiative to add

playgrounds and picnic shelters was the closest no vote, with almost 48

percent in favor. Also shot down was the bid to buy the Braelinn Baptist

Church campus for a community center, improvements to the Drake Field

area and the addition of a multipurpose gym and multipurpose room at the

Kedron recreation center.

Voters did

approve the bond question for refinancing debt owed by the Airport Authority,

which is slated to save approximately $100,000.

A total of

34.3 percent of the registered voters in Peachtree City turned out for

the election, according to figures from the Fayette County Board of Elections

and Voter Registration.

As for the

runoff candidates, they are left to campaign another two weeks, with many

attempting to draw voters who chose other candidates Tuesday but were

eliminated from the runoff ballot.

Brown feels

he has some common ground with Lakly and Murphy, particularly in the area

of being fiscally conservative and providing open government. Brown feels

the key to his campaign is his website, and when asked about supporting

the failed bond recreation projects through other city funds, he said

"I will not actively seek to finance any nonessential infrastructure

projects."

Rower said

he was thrilled to be in the runoff and he plans to get his "positive

message about our community" to the voters. "As the obvious

underdog we have a great deal of work to do but to paraphrase our commander

in chief we will do whatever it takes for as long as we have to to get

the job done." In an e-mail reply to The Citizen, he did not respond

to the question about whether or not he would support any of the failed

bond projects.

Fritz said

she feels it is important for voters "to take the time to fund out

the truth about the candidates.

"I was

absolutely not responsible for thousands of apartments or many other of

the allegations against me," she said. Fritz disputed claims that

she was soft on ethics in city government since she was the council member

who brought forth the proposal of implementing an ethics ordinance.

She also said

that "a couple of" the failed bond projects from the referendum

could possibly be done in the future after the city rebuilds its cash

reserves and with more support from the public. That could take "a

good while," she said.

Weed said his

campaign committee was thrilled to be in the runoff and had no complaints.

He said he and Chambers had a number of similarities in the way they planned

to approach the office, and he plans to keep getting the word out about

his agenda. Weed also said he feels it is important to respect the voters'

wishes on the bond referendum recreation projects, although "some

of the ideas behind those projects remain viable." He explained that

the community center should be pursued as a joint venture with the county

and the other surrounding municipalities.