Three weeks to the day after

coming within 20 votes of giving a majority to Peachtree City Council

Post 1 candidate Judi-Ann Rutherford, voters will be asked to return to

the polls to choose between her and second-place vote getter Lee H. Poolman

in a runoff.

Though Peachtree City voters

made a respectable 26 percent showing Tuesday, the runoff election threatens

to attract far fewer voters - not because of the candidates or the

issues, but because of the timing.

It will be held Tuesday, Nov.

25, two days before Thanksgiving and while local schools are closed for

week. That worries Rutherford, who said Wednesday her efforts over the

next two weeks will be to "get out the vote."

"Anybody who voted can

vote again, and anybody who didn't vote the first time but was registered

can vote this time," said Rutherford, who works as office manager

at the city's Fred Brown Jr. Amphitheater. Though she has previously

been elected to municipal office in a small Maine town, this is her first

run at Peachtree City politics.

"The hardest thing to

do is to get the vote out," she said. "Traditionally, trying

to get people back out to the polls is hard for any candidate."

Rutherford drew 2,179 votes

or 49 percent, while Poolman got 1,473 votes or 34 percent. As expected,

the spoiler in the race was third-place finisher James J. Adduci, a local

bar and restaurant owner, who got 737 votes or 17 percent.

While stopping short of calling

her totals a "mandate," Rutherford did say they reflected a

solid support base for her cause.

"I'm running for

good government, for good progress, to build relationshiops," she

said. "We as a city and a council need to move forward."

Poolman, meanwhile, was just

as miffed that Rutherford came so close to winning a majority, but for

opposite reasons.

"I'm surprised the

voters of Peachtree City would think she is qualified," said Poolman,

who is employed as the budget systems manager for Fulton County. "Her

experience is nothing compared to mine."

Poolman said he would have

gotten more votes if he had attended the Rotary Club's candidate

forum Oct. 21, but a previous conflict related to his job kept him in

Washington that night. Rotary officials refused to compromise.

"If you take her answers

at the Rotary forum and compare them to James (Adduci), yeah, she looked

better," said Poolman. "But she still beat around the bush and

didn't have a clear-cut answer to any problem."

Both candidates again dismissed

their perceived conflicts of interest, both employment related.

At Fulton County, Poolman reports

directly to Budget Director Steve Rapson, who sits on Council Post 4.

And Rutherford's employment at the amphithteater has posed a big

question mark as the future of the Development Authority of Peachtree

City is decided.

Poolman described as "sad"

any voters who chose Rutherford instead of him because of the Rapson connection.

Rutherford, on the other hand, was decidedly frank about her situation,

which would appear far more complicated.

"My conflict is very clear,"

she said. "The message I need to get out is I'm not a city employee.

I intend to keep my job."

A clearer "mandate"

was handed down in the Post 2 race, in which 15-year resident Stuart Kourajian

soundly ousted incumbent Dan Tennant, 3,072 to 1,721, or a victory margin

of 64 percent.

"I'm very pleased

with the results," said Kourajian, who was still fielding congratulatory

calls two days after the vote and maintained his message to restore integrity,

honesty, and professionalism in city government carried the day.

"The margin of victory

is a clear indication that the residents of Peachtree City are tired of

contentious attitudes from our elected officials," he said. "The

City Council and Mayor are elected to serve the residents and provide

the leadership necessary to help our City progress. As elected officials,

we must accept our responsibility, and be accountable for our actions

and our inactions."

Tennant, who did not return

phone calls seeking comment, circulated a press release Wednesday in which

he congratulated Kourajian and said he is considering his political future

after failing to regain his seat for a second four-year term.

"It has been a great experience,

and I will have many rewarding memories about serving my community,"

said wrote. "I congratulate Stuart Kourajian and wish him the best

of luck in his term in office."

Tennant formally announced

his intentions to run for reelection last spring, and even when Kourajian

emerged as his lone opposition in September, he spent much of his time

battling Mayor Steve Brown, with whom he had grown increasingly at odds

with in recent months.

Though he has hinted at making

a run for mayor in 2005, Tennant was vague about this political aspirations

after Tuesday.

"There will be plenty

of time to sort out my future political plans, if any, as I have a number

of options," Tennant said. "In the meantime, I am going to enjoy

my family, my friends, my good health, and stay involved in the community

in other ways."

Kourajian said he hopes his

success beating a seating councilman will encourage others in Peachtree

City to enter the public arena and help make a difference.

"The challenge I am posing

to myself, to the Post 1 electee, to the current Council, and to the Mayor

is to recreate an environment of team work, with the focus on what is

best for Peachtree City," Kourajian said. "I am very encouraged

as to what improvements and changes can be affected over the next four

years."