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I understand that this is a somewhat complex issue, but let me throw the following comments on the table for the sake of discussion.
This is meant to be a general observation, not a response to the legalities of the ethics complaint.
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At 10:07 AM -0400 5/4/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Those who assume that tickets are personal donations assume that the elected official wants to give up another night with the family to be out doing PR.
This distinction between personal and work is probably important here and comes up in another topic area that we discussed recently, which is travel.
The public (us) looks at travel as a "perk" - and it can be. I love to travel, whether its for work or pleasure, but my wife travels all the time and would much rather stay home. She travels because she needs to for her job and the company has decided its a wise investment.
We often look at travel by elected officials as if its purely a "perk" of the job, neglecting the value that it provides to the city. That doesn't mean that every trip is worth while or that everyone will agree on the value of any particular trip. One elected official might consider travel a "perk", while another disdains it.
There are similar dynamics here. The public see's attendance at a hockey game as a "perk" (and for some it might be), but others see it as a required part of the job. Some of us don't like professional sports, so its even harder to accept that this might be part of the job.
Would we be having the same debate if the Mayor accepted free tickets to a chamber of commerce luncheon? Some of us might, but others would say "man that sounds miserable, I feel sorry for the poor guy for having to attend."
So, sometimes I wonder, if we don't secretly just want our elected officials to only participate in public events that they clearly don't enjoy, so that we know they are working and not getting any personal benefits on the "side."
Best wishes,
Tim Erickson Hamline Midway [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Just my opinion for the moment, I reserve the right to flip-flop on this or any other issue at any time (should I suddenly see the "light").
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Tim Erickson http://www.politalk.com St. Paul, MN - USA 651-643-0722
[EMAIL PROTECTED] iChat/AIM: stpaultim
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