I have read these many letters

printed in The Citizen and passed them off as the pathetic blather of

a failed candidate and his campaign manager. I also found it ironic that

Mr. Rower often criticized then-candidate Brown for being too negative,

never having anything good to say about the city or its outgoing mayor.

Since soundly losing the election Mr. Rower has taken on the mantel of

the constant critic, a position he formerly abhorred.

I did not feel any need to

respond these diatribes as I assumed the citizens of Peachtree City were

too intelligent to believe these half-truths and blatant falsehoods. Recently,

a comment made to me by an elderly lady has caused me to reconsider. She

said that Steve Brown was the worst mayor in Peachtree City history. She

arrived at this conclusion after only four months of the mayor's term

primarily from reading letters complaining about the mayor's actions.

If this opinion is indicative

of others in Peachtree City, then maybe our citizens are not as sharp

as I thought. To paraphrase an old saying, telling a lie over and over

doesn't make it true.

Does anyone expect such a bitter

loser to have anything positive to say about the person who defeated him?

Let me address one specific letter from Mr. Rower. In the May 1 edition

of The Citizen, Mr. Rower asked, "If you voted for change, are these

the changes you voted for?" I can respond with a resounding yes.

Mr. Rower cites four specific

issues in his letter. First, the building moratorium. I believe the building

moratorium was needed at the time and voiced my support to the City Council.

The problem was that the city chose not to fight the court ruling against

it. Had they done so, the moratorium would likely have been validated,

especially in light of the recent Supreme Court decision in the Lake Tahoe

case (they ruled local governments may impose moratoriums on development

and that a temporary moratorium does not constitute a "taking"

which would require compensation).

Mr. Rower also claims Peachtree

City has lost business growth. Where is his evidence other than a spurious

remark by the head of the Fayette Development Authority? Can he name one

business that backed out of a commitment to locate in Peachtree City?

I suspect the downturn in interest is due more to the business financial

climate than the moratorium.

Second, the tennis center.

Personally, I don't think the mayor went far enough. The tennis center

should be completely privatized. Our golf courses aren't subsidized by

tax revenue; why are tennis players special? Nevertheless, this same mayor

that Mr. Rower accuses of being antibusiness, proposed creation of a separate

authority to run the tennis center and amphitheater so the Development

Authority could concentrate on bringing more high-quality businesses to

Peachtree City. That same management team that "turned both into

world-class venues" could have moved to the new authority where they

would be able to focus their efforts on these sports and entertainment

activities.

And as to the citizens turning

out in force, 200 tennis players and center employees, inflamed by a false,

anonymous e-mail and afraid they were going to lose their taxpayer-subsidized

perk, showed up. Out of a city of 35,000, that hardly constitutes overwhelming

opposition.

Third, the special tax district.

The legislation requested by the mayor would have allowed the affected

property owners to decide to impose a tax on themselves for improvements

in their area. The tax would not have been imposed by the city council.

That sounds like democracy in action to me.

Yet state Representative [Kathy]

Cox and Council Member [Annie] McMenamin opposed even allowing the property

owners the opportunity to decide. Why should the mayor spend considerable

time and effort in selling the program to the business owners in the area

if the legal approval to establish the special tax zone is not there?

Finally, $20, 000 for the air

show. The air show is a private function and should be paid for with private

funds. If extra security is required, then they need to pay for that.

Some vague promise that the funds for security will be repaid is not enough.

If the air show doesn't make enough to pay the city back, then the taxpayers

have to foot the bill, resulting in other city services being cut or taxes

being raised.

I, for one, don't want my taxes

raised to support a privately operated air show. And if they want to threaten

to go somewhere else, let them. It will [be] quieter around here.

Mr. Rower says Mayor Brown

"seems bent on tearing down everything that is good and everything

that makes us proud of Peachtree City." Nothing could be further

from the truth. Mayor Brown loves Peachtree City. He has seen the other

side and moved here to get away from the high-density development, strip

malls, and traffic of Gwinnett County. He wants to ensure that Peachtree

City doesn't go down that same path. Peachtree City is a great place to

live; Mayor Brown wants to make it even better.

Robert Brown

Peachtree City