One of the oddest political seasons in Peachtree City history comes to

an end when voters go to the polls Tuesday, barely 14 days after it all

began.

Though qualifying ended in early September, a forum sponsored by the Peachtree

City Rotary Club on Oct. 21 afforded many voters the �rst and only chance

to quiz the candidates running for two available City Council seats, and

it left many scratching their heads.

Just two of the three candidates running for Post 1 - bar and restaurant

owner James Adduci and Fred Brown Jr. Amphitheater of�ce manager Judi-Ann

Rutherford - appeared at the forum. The third, Lee H. Poolman, had

a previous committment to attend a seminar in Washington related to his

job as budget system manager with Fulton County and could not attend.

Questions of con�ict of interest surrounding the employment of both Poolman

and Rutherford have clouded that race.

In the Post 2 contest, incumbent Dan Tennant has spent more time defending

his record and his contentious relationship with Mayor Steve Brown rather

than argue the issues with his opponent, Stuart Kourajian, a project manager

with SunTrust Banks.

Though not up for reelection himself, Brown has waged a campaign to defeat

Tennant on Tuesday, saying the Post 2 councilman has changed allegiances

since he was �rst elected in 1999 and is to blame for the many stalemates

on crucial city council votes in recent months.

The Post 2 controversy has even crossed over into the church arena, with

members of Peachtree City United Methodist Church being forced to choose

sides between Tennant and Kourajian, both of whom claim membership in

the huge congregation.

"Don't you think it odd that a church family wouldn't be

united in backing one of its own?" asked Sandy Edinger, a church

member, in a letter to The Citizen this week in which she asked for Tennant

to withdraw from the race. Edinger is a Kourajian supporter.

No one is predicting a voter turnout, but the mood of an electorate weary

with the state of affairs at city hall has backers of a $4.9 million referendum

to expand the city library worried. It will be a tough sell, most observers

agree.

A �nal chance to meet the candidates comes Saturday when the Fayette County

Republican Party hosts a breakfast forum at the IHOP in Fayetteville at

8:30 a.m. Call 770-716-1545 for more information.

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.