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Jun 17, 2008 11:04 pm US/Central
Are Free Tickets For Dallas Council Members Fair?
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
Documents obtained by CBS 11 show former and current Dallas City Council members made hundreds of request for free concert tickets over a two-year span.
In one request, former council member Leo Chaney asked for four free tickets to ZZ Top. In another written request, current council member Steve Salazar asked for four free tickets to Tom Petty and the Family Values Tour. In a yet another written request, council member Sheffie Kadane asked for four free tickets to Pat Green and Willie Nelson.
These are just three examples of letters and documents obtained by CBS 11 that show in 2006 and 2007, many members of the council frequently asked for free tickets to concerts at the Smirnoff Music Center in Fair Park. The venue is now called SuperPages.com.
The tickets were given out by Live Nation. The company was hired by the city to manage the Smirnoff Music Center (SuperPages.com).
"Some tickets were issued," said council woman Pauline Medrano. "Some tickets were not issued." Medrano made many of those free ticket requests, but said she assumed the process was ethical.
Medrano even points to a document obtained by CBS 11 News where council members were instructed to put their complimentary ticket requests in writing using council letterhead.
She said she was confused when all of a sudden legal and ethical questions were raised.
Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Elba Garcia said she too made ticket requests, but then made it a point to pay for all of her tickets.
"I think it looks bad when you ask for free tickets when most people can't get free tickets," said Dr. Garcia.
The unusually high requests for free tickets in 2006 and 2007 led Mayor Tom Leppert to form a task force addressing this ethical issue. Last week, the council passed a ban on free tickets from city contractors.
"It's about accountability and measurability," said Dallas City Councilmember Dave Neumann. "It's a straight forward type of policy that goes to the credibility that the council always needs to keep with the public."
The new policy allows council members to request concert tickets from Live Nation, but for now on, they must pay for those tickets.
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