In a little-noticed item in this weekend's "Behind Closed Doors" in the Star, it was pointed out that Mayor Greg Ballard snagged 70 tickets to the Final Four. The publicly-financed Indiana Sports Corporation and the Indiana Convention & Visitors Association snagged several hundred more tickets to the prized event. As this blog has pointed out in the past, Ballard is totally consumed by the perks of office. Getting tickets to sporting events is his highest priority as mayor. Ballard could be seen over the weekend desperately seeking out celebrities in town for the Final Four as he dined at downtown's best steak houses.
Mayor Ballard appeared on the Morning Show with WIBC's Terri Stacy and Steve Simpson this morning. Ballard used the opportunity to promote his tax, spend and borrow bailout of the CIB as the reason our city was able to host a Final Four this weekend. Naturally, Stacy and Simpson threw only softball questions to the mayor. Ballard likes to brag about how transparent his administration is. Let's get a full accounting of just who all got those Final Four tickets doled out by his office, the Indiana Sports Corporation and the Indiana Convention & Visitors Association. Our taxpayer dollars were used to purchase those tickets. Let's see who got them.
7 comments:
He mentioned his brother on WIBC, for one.
I'm sure Winnie, his daughter and son got tickets as well.
It is fairly common in the private sector for tickets to sporting (or other) events to be liberally passed around as "business favors". Business owners and top level managers always have to be cautious about their staff getting too used to the perks of being in decision making or purchasing positions.
I used to deal with somebody at a now defunct airline that my sales team felt fairly certain had gotten to cozy and used to the perks our larger competitor lavished on him and that 'status' it provided.
In the private sector each company and or their shareholders can set their own policies on disclosure or acceptance of these kinds of items.
In the PUBLIC sector; however, these sort of hand outs not only should be discouraged but I believe that public officials in potential policy setting roles should have to pay their own freight.
These sorts of things can have an influence on people's perspectives and opinions even if they don't realize it. Somebody who gets to attend all kinds of sporting events and hob nob with the movers and shakers will never appreciate the resentment those who not do this have when they pay their 2% food and beverage tax and buy their own tickets to games. It just magnifies the anger towards the theft on behalf of corporatist interests.
We will never know who got those tickets....NEVER!!
Corrupt public officials are pathetic, selling the public trust for trinkets.
I wrote to Robert Vane to ask who got the tickets. I have not heard back, but will let you know if/when I do.
That was about 14,000 of entertainment paid for by taxpayers. I'd like to know who he's entertaining on my dime.
I think Ed Treacey got six.
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