Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor (May 28, 2004)

Naive position on tickets for Council member Perry

Editor:

I believe Mountain View City Council member Greg Perry is being naive and somewhat sanctimonious about not accepting concert tickets as part of the benefits of being on the council.

No decision on record, for or against the past or present Shoreline operators, has had anything to do with concert tickets. If those two concert tickets are all it takes to influence his vote, maybe being in office is not his calling. He is also assuming the character and integrity of his fellow council members, past and present.

To compare San Jose City Council members not having the same access to HP Pavilion is apples vs. oranges. San Jose council members receive an annual salary around $75,000 per year whereas Mountain View council members (as in many of the smaller surrounding cities) are compensated for their time at $400 to $600 per month. The San Jose Mercury News is right -- San Jose council members can afford the tickets for events and should pay for them. However, given the time and effort that is expended and expected for being elected in smaller communities like Mountain View, there should be other benefits.

It is difficult enough to get regular, non-retired, average working citizens to run for public office without going through a litany of finance disclosures and questions on what you would do if elected.

If Council member Perry has a problem with accepting the tickets gratis, then require reporting them as you would any other gift over the $325 per year requirement of city and elected officials. He or any other council member can choose to use them or give them away.

Part of the reason I ran for Mountain View City Council in the past was to have access to those concert tickets. I see nothing wrong with accepting them as part of the benefits of service to the community. The $500 per month salary is barely enough to cover the gas and household utility expenses in performing expected council duties.

There are far more pressing issues for Mountain View, including Council member Perry's role in them, that should be receiving newspaper coverage.

Rosiland Bivings
Boranda Avenue

Editorial on conflict had it all wrong

Editor:

You have it all wrong -- the headline on your May 7 editorial trumpets, "Glaring conflict should be stopped." I believe there is no conflict at all if council members accept tickets for seats at Shoreline Amphitheatre concerts. Why? Because Clear Channel has no choice in providing the tickets to Mountain View. It cannot withhold or award the tickets and therefore cannot influence a council member.

Now if a council member gets friendly with Shoreline management and accepts meals, tours, celebrity receptions and similar discretionary activities, there could be charges of a conflict of interest.

But there is a problem in handing handfuls of tickets to council members -- tickets to every performance of every artist. Tickets may be wasted and they may be used for political gain. Long ago I proposed that our council should adopt a policy similar to that of San Francisco in which the tickets are used only to advance the interests of Mountain View. That would include tickets to visiting dignitaries, neighboring city officials, companies considering moving to Mountain View, outstanding community volunteers, outstanding city employees, and so on.

The policy should also include a few tickets for council members and senior city staff so that they can view Amphitheatre operations from the inside. Other city concession operations, such as Michael's and the Shoreline Cafe, can be observed at no cost. Clear Channel is a contractor with the city and its operations can only be seen with an expensive ticket.

The revised policy should give specific guidelines on awarding of tickets, and all of the decisions should be made by a city employee, not a council member. Tickets should not be donated by council members. I agree with Council member Mary Lou Zoglin, who said, ". . . it would bring me personal publicity and gratitude from whatever agency I gave it to." The auctioning of donated Shoreline tickets by the high school foundation continually gives credit to the council member who donated them. In my opinion, that is using city property for personal political gain.

I hope the council takes time to immediately revise its ticket policy for the coming Amphitheatre season. The community would probably feel better about our politicians if it does.

Jim Cochran Former City Council member
Thaddeus Drive

Editor's Note: The following letters were sent to the Voice prior to the Los Altos City Council's Tuesday decision to support Gay Pride Day.

Sad about L.A. Council's action on Gay Pride Day

Editor:

Upon receiving the May 21 issue of the Voice, my heart sank as I read the front page article entitled "Los Altos council rejects Gay Pride Day."

A day for "Freedom From Prejudice," the Webster's Dictionary meaning of tolerance, would be ideal -- but I would bet that the connotation the council has in their heads, of the word tolerance, does not come close to Webster's primary meaning.

I am outraged at the council's vote to deny the GLBT students of Los Altos High School a day of their own, Gay Pride Day, within the city of Los Altos.

We don't want to be "tolerated" -- we want, and we're entitled to, the same recognition and rights as everyone else, and I'm working every day to make sure that we get those rights. The U.S. Constitution guarantees us those rights, and it's people like those sitting on the council that bow to the pressure of a few narrow-minded, uneducated people, that make our everyday lives more difficult than they should be.

I am not a student, but I feel their frustration and their pain because I have been fighting for the rights of GLBT people for 30 years. I can write this letter, and I can tell my friends to write to the council, and I can stop spending money in the city of Los Altos, and I can tell all of my GLBT friends in the area to stop spending money in Los Altos. GLBT households are abundant in Los Altos, but maybe the council isn't aware of that.

To put it another way: According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia, the GLBT American population, estimated at 16.5 million people, has $450 billion of buying power.

How much of that money do you think is spent in Los Altos?

Sondra Zambino
Ada Avenue

Support from the silent majority

Editor:

On behalf of the silent majority in our community, I wish to commend the Los Altos City Council in its decision not to support a Gay Pride Day. The council got it right, as we strongly adhere to Biblical beliefs and values.

Gordon Pilcher
Amalfi Way

Tolerance Day not a sign of tolerance for gay students

Editor:

Let me get this straight -- because the Los Altos City Council is intolerant toward gay students (and presumes its citizens are, too), the requested Gay Pride Day will be replaced with Tolerance Day. Congratulations on this shining example of tolerance.

Elaine Quon
Rock St.

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