A 2004 letter of reprimand to Tommy Hunter is being used as ammunition in the 2012 Gwinnett County District 3 commission race.

The letter, available on the Mike Korom campaign site, outlines several violations of Gwinnett County merit system rules and regulations, administrator policies and human resources management policies alleged to have occurred during Hunter’s tenure as a senior construction manager.

A post on the Korom campaign site refers to the matter as “Tommy Hunter’s waste of government time and money.” ...

The post continues, “Is this what we need more of? Someone more interested in his own personal well being than that of the constituents?”

In an email sent to several media outlets, Korom’s campaign manager Rich Carithers indicated the letter of reprimand was provided to the campaign by "an unknown source by way of email.” The campaign subsequently requested a copy of the letter from Gwinnett County to verify its authenticity. 

Carithers noted the letter of reprimand references Hunter’s “time of dealing with outside real estate ventures and conducting business not related to dealings with Gwinnett County.”  

“We already have a former Commissioner dealing with his own legalities related to under the table real estate deals.  Let's not go down this road again,” Carithers wrote. 

Though the letter was made public by the Korom campaign, Hunter -- in a Facebook message to Dacula Patch -- referred to the matter as “more dirty tricks from the Beaudreau campaign.”  

Hunter categorized the letter as a private one from a previous employer “filled with inaccurate accusations.”

“My opponent is more interested in spreading false accusations than discussing important issues of this campaign,” Hunter wrote. “I will continue to focus on water supply, transportation, the budget, property rights for those surrounding the proposed airport expansion, and keeping an open door policy to constituents. If elected I will never forget that the residents of District 3 will always be my boss."

Hunter and Korom, along with former Snellville mayor Jerry Oberholtzer, are challenging incumbent Mike Beaudreau for the Gwinnett County District 3 commission seat.