Smyrna Council Candidates: No Conflict of Interest

Two men who may be sitting on the Smyrna City Council together next year have had a previous working relationship and are listed on a consulting website as president and vice president, but say the relationship will not interfere with their duties to the city if elected.

Councilman Ron Fennel and candidate Doug Stoner are up for election in wards 7 and 6, respectively. Both their names and photos appear on the “Team” portion of an organization called Georgia Capitol Associates, with Fennel named as President & CEO and Stoner named as Senior Vice President.

Georgia Capitol Associates says it specializes in, “strategic planning, project & event management, and most importantly to our clients, navigating the maze of relationships and transactions that comprise the legislative process.”

A Smyrna-Vinings Patch reader asked if the business titles listed on Georgia Capitol Associates’ website makes Stoner an employee of Fennel’s, and wondered if Stoner would defer to his “boss” if a controversial matter were to come before the city council.

“I’m not his boss,” Fennel told Patch Monday. Fennel added that Stoner serves as an independent contractor of sorts, and the two only work together when they have a mutual client, which both men said they do not have at the present time.

“It’s a part time job,” Fennel said. “As anyone who’s been in public service knows, it costs money to serve in public life. None of the business I do with consulting has anything to do with Smyrna.” Fennell said that were a conflict of interest to arise, he would recuse himself from the matter or openly state the conflict.

Stoner echoed the same sentiments, telling Patch that he sees his role at Georgia Capitol Associates as a contracting position.

“We dont have clients together and I’m not employed by him,” Stoner added. “We may work together at some point but not as a boss and a subordinate.”

Stoner, who has a history of public service that includes stints in the Georgia House of Representatives and Georgia Senate, said that he has always abstained from any issue he may have a conflict of interest in or has clearly stated that there is a conflict of interest.

The election for the open seats on the Smyrna City Council will be held on Nov. 3.