At least a half-dozen prominent county Republicans, including Marilyn Watts, Richard Hobbs and Jean Studdard, joined Pfeifer in the walk-out.

Pfeifer, accusing Brown of "hijacking" the legislative delegation meeting to promote his own agenda, took issue with the mayor's insistence that city residents don't have fair representation at the county level.

Pfeifer, reelected last November, is the only one of Fayette's five commissioners who actually lives in Peachtree City.

Commissioner A.G. VanLandingham and Chairman Greg Dunn were also present, but neither walked out in protest. Commissioner Herb Frady, a former Peachtree City mayor who has also been critical of Brown and his politics, was home sick. Linda Wells was not in attendance.

The fireworks erupted near the end of the nearly three-hour meeting, when moderator Rep. Virgil Fludd, D-Tyrone, opened the floor to allow any local elected officals to offer feedback on his plan to do away with the at-large election of county commissioners.

Brown used the opportunity to argue that city residents are the victims of "double taxation" and "taxation without representation" because they help fund county EMS, a service the city chooses to provide as well.

In a vote last month, the commission decided to take no action on a request from Brown and the City Council to create a special EMS tax district, which would exempt city property owners from paying for county EMS.

County commissioners have been reluctant to let city residents completely "opt out" of their responsibility to pay for EMS, and instead want the city and county to consider the benefits of consolidation.

Now, city officials are considering filing a lawsuit to force the issue.

Brown's argument that Pfeifer and others on the commission have no concern for city residents hit a raw nerve.

"Our hearts are in the right place on this," Pfeifer said while greeting well-wishers in the lobby of Peachtree City Hall after his walk-out. "We want to do what's best for the people of Peachtree City, and we believe what's best is merging these services."

Brown, on the other hand, compared Pfeifer's behavior to "dictators and other forms of tyrannical rulers" and said his actions prove Pfeifer "cannot defend his position."

"His disruptive behavior was way out of line, but not unexpected," Brown said Wednesday in a prepared statement. "I now have a good idea of how President Bush feels when some radical jumps up and starts screaming when he is trying to speak to an audience."

Brown continued, "I would tell our children to beware of the person that tries to severely limit your First Amendment rights because that is a control mechanism that is mainly used by dictators and other forms of tyrannical rulers."

Brown praised Fludd for at least trying to keep the peace in the meeting. "He did a good job of trying to give everyone an opportunity to speak and he did his best to quiet those that were trying to disrupt the meeting," said Brown.

Afterward, Fludd downplayed the night's drama and tried to put things in a more positive light. "It was another good discussion, an opportunity for the people to voice their opinions and that's what we wanted," he said.

According to Fludd, support either for or against district voting was about evenly split Tuesday night. In the first of Fludd's meetings last month in north Fayette, where the issue has its roots, support for district representation was strong.

A final public forum is set for Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Stonewall Village Administrative Complex in Fayetteville.

Fludd said the full seven-member delegation will then decide what to do next on the issue, which could be introduced as local legislation in this year's General Assembly or held for further study.

Either way, said Rep. Dan Lakly, R-Peachtree City, support among voters for making the change just isn't there. The seven-member delegation is divided on the issue as well.

"I don't want to air our dirty laundry for the rest of the state to see," said Lakly.

Lane Watts, chairman of the Fayette County Republican Party, said it was clear to him following Tuesday night's meeting that the issue, for the time being at least, is dead. "It's all over but the shouting," he said.