Editorial Editorial (November 19, 2004)

Time to end ticket perk Time to end ticket perk (November 19, 2004)

It is time for members of the city council to take the high road and end their acceptance of free VIP tickets to concerts at Shoreline Amphitheatre, a longtime perk that is worth $8,750 to each member if sold at face value.

They will have a good chance to opt out of this conflict-ridden program at a Dec. 7 meeting when they consider four ways to handle the Shoreline tickets, which come to the city as part of its lease arrangement with the concert venue's owner, Clear Channel Communications.

The alternatives were designed by the council's procedures committee, made up of Mayor Matt Pear, Nick Galiotto and Mary Lou Zoglin, and range from not accepting tickets at all, limiting the number of tickets accepted, or keeping the current policy, which allots two VIP passes a year to each council member. Another option is to use an admittance badge that would permit council members to visit Shoreline during a concert to observe procedures, but would not allow them to sit down and take in the event. A similar system is used at the Concord Pavilion.

As the city's primary negotiator with Clear Channel, it is critical that council members are not influenced by any perks at Shoreline. City residents need to know that their public officials are untainted by conflicts of interest when they decide how much to charge Shoreline for rent or parking at the amphitheatre, which sits on city property.

The easiest way to dispose of the VIP Shoreline tickets and the 300 general admission tickets the city receives for each event, is to sell them to the public or auction them off on Ebay. We know that in the past many council members have attended only one or two concerts and donated their remaining tickets to a charitable cause.

But that method is fraught with difficulty, not the least of which is the fact that the council member/donor is probably gaining stature and influence with the nonprofit. And the practice of handing out the general admission tickets to city workers also could present a conflict of interest.

Short of convincing Shoreline to pay additional rent to match the value of the free tickets if they were returned, the city's best option is to sell the tickets to the highest bidder in a public auction process. The proceeds could go to the general fund or to more specific uses. It would end a long tradition of VIP perks at Shoreline, but it would begin a period when the public would know that the council had nothing to lose or gain by taking action for or against Shoreline.

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