Part #2 Free Tickets at the Greensboro Coliseum , Did Sitting Council Member Get a Free Pass To The ACC Tournament?

Let's start at the beginning of this journey when back on February 20, 2010, Triadwatch had a post titled "Free Tickets To The Circus Handed Out By Greensboro City Council Members, Is This Legal or Ethical of Conflicts of Interest" , CLICKHERE .

Now we have part #2, where Greensboro City Council member T. Dianne-Bellamy Small had this exchange with Greensboro Coliseum manager Matt Brown at the 7-20-2010 city council meeting. Below is a edited version of a exchange between the councilwomen and coliseum drector Matt Brown









Greensboro City Council member T. Dianne-Bellamy Small says she attended either the Women's ACC Tournament or the Men's ACC Tournament, and spoke with the "Little Guys" who are the non-skilled service workers working the event who otherwise would have been unemployed in March.

The "Little Guys" talked with T. Dianne-Bellamy Small and they thanked her for having the ACC tournament.

She also talked about the "little guys" who got the opportunity to see a national televised game at the coliseum both at the men's and womens ACC Tournament . These "little guys" were there but the councilwomen could not remember the name of the group of school aged children that came to the ACC Tournament wearing the same shirts. She knew that they were there at the coliseum because the councilmember said that "she was there" as the beggining of the video shows.

Then she asks Matt Brown about his records on giving away tickets to the coliseum at certain events like holiday on ice, or circus. This is where we look back at the ethical issues and conflicts of interest with giving away tickets to council members to give out as we talked about back in February as linked above in the post .

It is great that the Greensboro Coliseum gives away tickets to disadvantaged youths in the area, but are local politicians getting free passes along with them?

Now let's get to another issue in and of itself in that we know by the video above that the councilwomen was at the ACC Tournament, either the men's or women's or maybe both. You can also see that in the video she points to herself as being able to afford tickets to the coliseum. The Men's ACC tournament book for all the games will run you around $363 and women's around $99 or were there single game tickets available for sale? Did the councilwomen T. Dianne Bellamy-Small buy her tickets to the ACC Tournament? or Did someone give her free tickets to the event? Was she at both the men's and women's tournament? The issue of free tickets came up back in February and here is some discussion back then:

Below is from the N.C.Board of Ethics CLICKHERE

TICKETS


Should a Public Official accept free tickets from an agency vendor to a sporting event, play, or fundraising event?


Answer: Generally, no. It is generally not proper for Public Officials to accept gifts or services from someone whom the official regulates, contracts with, or otherwise does business with as part of his service as a Public Official. At a minimum, this can cause the appearance of a conflict of interest.


Does it make any difference if the tickets to a sporting event are season tickets or tickets the vendor received as part of its sponsorship of the event so that there was no purchase made specifically for the Public Official?


Answer: No. It does not matter how the vendor got the tickets.


Can a vendor take a Public Official to entertainment events when the Official has traveled to the vendor’s home city or when both vendor and Official are out of town (like at a non-vendor sponsored seminar)?


Answer: Not if it is otherwise prohibited. Ethics requirements do not end at the border.

Since T. Dianne Bellamy-Small states that she was at the tournament, it would be interesting to see if she really paid for her tickets, or did she accept free tickets?

Don't worry because the Charlotte area and their local elected officials have also had problems with tickets to tournaments as well CLICKHERE .

We also have the Greater Greensboro Open just around the corner, and knowing that free tickets are given out like candy for this event. Which councilmembers will we see in the corporate boxes eating for free? 


If you would like to see the whole exchange between Matt Brown and Greensboro City Council member T. Dianne-Bellamy Small you can go to the city's web site CLICKHERE and it is around the 2 hour and 31 minute mark.

Free Tickets To The Circus Handed Out By Greensboro City Council Members, Is This Legal or Ethical or Conflict of Interest?

The video from above is from the Greensboro City Council meeting on 2-16-2010 where Greensboro City Council member Danny Thompson was thanking other council members Perkins,Kee,Wade and Mayor Knight for donating their Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus tickets to his church to take some deserving montagnards family for a night out.

How many other events do Greensboro City Council members get tickets for?
Is this a perk for being a elected official?
Does this perk go against state law of gift giving?
How many GGO tickets do local elected officials get to hand out?
Should this be reported on campaign contribution forms?

These tickets were given to the Greensboro City Council members by Ringling Brothers. We have seen from Governor Bev Perdue that she did a executive order for state level employees back in the fall , below is part of the executive order.

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 24
REGARDING GIFTS TO STATE EMPLOYEES


WHEREAS, those in State government who do the work of the public must continuously ensure that their actions reflect the ethical standards that are essential to maintaining the public’s trust; and


WHEREAS, N.C. Gen. Stat. 133-32 makes it unlawful for a State employee to willfully receive or accept any gift or favor from a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier of the State agency if the State employee is involved in (1) preparing plans, specifications, or estimates for public contracts; (2) awarding or administering public contracts; or (3) inspecting or supervising construction; and


WHEREAS, N.C. Gen. Stat. 133-32 applies to a limited group of State employees; and


WHEREAS, no State employee should be permitted to accept gifts or favors from contractors working or seeking to work with the employee’s agency; and

Below is from the North Carolina Board of Ethics back in 2001 with a little Google research, CLICKHERE

TICKETS


Should a Public Official accept free tickets from an agency vendor to a sporting event, play, or fundraising event?


Answer: Generally, no. It is generally not proper for Public Officials to accept gifts or services from someone whom the official regulates, contracts with, or otherwise does business with as part of his service as a Public Official. At a minimum, this can cause the appearance of a conflict of interest.


Does it make any difference if the tickets to a sporting event are season tickets or tickets the vendor received as part of its sponsorship of the event so that there was no purchase made specifically for the Public Official?


Answer: No. It does not matter how the vendor got the tickets.


Can a vendor take a Public Official to entertainment events when the Official has traveled to the vendor’s home city or when both vendor and Official are out of town (like at a non-vendor sponsored seminar)?


Answer: Not if it is otherwise prohibited. Ethics requirements do not end at the border.

Who knew that Greensboro City Council members get tickets to events and is this a perk of the job. But in this day and time in North Carolina where people are wanting to curry favors with plenty of local officials and we might see where local officials might want to do the same thing and maybe curry favor with getting tickets for a group of people to want their vote in the upcoming elections . It might be time to look at this program of giving out free tickets and am probably certain that the GGO golf tickets are floating out there for local elected officials to give out as they please. This post is not about who received these circus tickets but was a post about who got to give out these tickets. If ringling wanted to personally give them to a group home or some deserving group it is totally fine but having it go through a local elected official sure does raise some red flags.

Elected Officials in Charlotte Have Their Own Version of Free Tickets, Time for a State Law Banning Free Tickets

HAT TIP: PUNDIT HOUSE CLICKHERE

As we have seen in the past few weeks with a post on Triadwatch where Greensboro City Council members were given free circus tickets CLICKHERE for that post.

Now we have a situation in Mecklenburg County where a commissioner is raising a red flag on the ethical aspects of giving away free CIAA Basketball Tournament tickets . The post is titled "Rotten Apples and CIAA Tickets". Here is  part of the post.

James took issue last month with commissioners receiving upwards of $9,000 worth of “free” tickets and skybox seats to the CIAA tourney. The select tickets are annually provided to the county, which along with the City of Charlotte “donates” $200,000 a year to the CIAA. The council also receives an allotment of CIAA tickets for its largess with the taxpayers’ money.


James questioned the ethics of elected officials in effect receiving gifts in a de facto kickback from an entity that does business with the county. Along with his fellow GOP board members, James wanted to donate the tickets to a local charity, which could then sell them and make some coin for a good cause. Last we heard the county manager nixed that idea. Not sure which commissioners and councilmembers ended up luxuriating in the skyboxes, but we’re working to track it down.

This situation sounds like a broken record in this state where so many people think it is their right and priviledge to get these freebies as a local elected official.As we have seen this has happened in Greensboro and now Charlotte in just the past few weeks. How many other cities allow this to happen? Is it time to ban the freebies all together? Is this ethical?Does it show a conflict of interest?

 This comes to light on a state level because the Governor of New York is now in hot water today over World Series Tickets here is what was said on Fox News,CLICKHERE

New York Gov. David Paterson, trying to hold onto office in the face of one scandal, was accused Wednesday of violating state ethics laws when he sought and obtained free Yankees tickets for the 2009 World Series and then may have lied about his intention to pay for them, according to a state report.



He faces penalties of nearly $100,000, and the case was referred to the Albany County prosecutor's office and the state attorney general for possible criminal investigation into whether Paterson -- "or anyone else" -- gave false answers to commission questions or backdated a check to pay for the tickets.



It looks like the Governor violated ethics laws of the State of New York. Maybe we can get some ethics laws in this state as well that will cover all local and state elected and appointed officials from banning gift giving of free tickets.

Ringling Brothers Circus Solicits Free Tickets to Greensboro City Council Member Trudy Wade

Greensboro City Council member Dr. Trudy Wade received this fax from FELD Entertainment to receive 2 free tickets to the Circus that was just in town this past week, she did not accept the offer. Now we see the document that goes with  the video CLICKHERE from fellow council member Danny Thompson who wanted to thank fellow council members for giving him their free tickets last year in 2010.

Let's take a look at what has happened all over this country in regards to free tickets and local officials.

LA Ethics Commission votes to ban free tickets to public officials CLICKHERE

Jindal advisors urge ban on free tickets for legislators CLICKHERE

Paterson fined over World Series tickets CLICKHERE

The Battle to keep public officials from accepting free tickets to Iron Bowl was lost but maybe the war was won  CLICKHERE

Free tickets to Arizona school officials raises ethics questions CLICKHERE

Ethics overhaul focuses on free tickets CLICKHERE


Some people will think these solicitation of free circus tickets are petty and don't mean anything but there should not be any instance where a local elected official should take any free ticket to any event . If you want to go to the event then pay your way and show that you did pay.

Is Charlotte Greensboro? Does anyone even know?

"...an Observer review of expense account spending by the taxpayer-supported CRVA over four years reveals a practice of lavishing Charlotte business leaders, local public officials and themselves with thank-you gifts.

Gifts included free concert and sports tickets, pricey dinners and alcoholic drinks. One thank-you: $4,600 worth of New York Yankees tickets.

Board members who oversee the authority also receive thousands of dollars worth of sports and concert tickets, as well as food and drinks on Newman's corporate credit card.

Newman, CRVA chief executive since 2004, said the spending is necessary.

Is someone going to ask Henri Fourrier,

President/CEO/Director of Marketing/Communications

of the publicly funded Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau,

how much he has been giving and spending on what?

Isn't that the same Henri Fourrier

who sold Greensboro’s electorate on an Aquatic Center

with a non-independent, non third party “hypothetical”

that will most likely cost Greensboro millions

in principal, interest, operating and maintenance costs?

The CRVA is a public organization, supported in part by a tax on hotel and motel rooms that generates about $23million a year, as well as a 1percent tax on all prepared food and beverages in Mecklenburg County that raises $20 million.

Isn't that kind of the same set up

as the Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau?

...Newman has also had missteps.

• Attendance at the CRVA-operated NASCAR Hall of Fame has been one-third of projections. The hall has so far lost more than $1.2 million in its first year. Newman, the hall's most public backer, was adamant in the weeks before the hall's opening that it would hit its estimate of 800,000 visitors annually.

Kind of like the ACC Hall of Champions and the swimming pool?

...After Mayor Anthony Foxx harshly criticized the CRVA over the lapses, the board on Wednesday hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to review the authority's policies and organizational structure. The consultants, who will be paid $25,000, will work with the authority through June 2.

Is someone going to look at the Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau?

The CRVA's unofficial motto is "put heads in beds."

Doesn't that sound kind of like

what the Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau likes to say?

...A review of Newman's credit card expense reports dating to 2007 shows he spends up to $8,000 a month.

...In 2009 and 2010, however, Newman used his corporate credit card to buy $4,600 of New York Yankees baseball tickets for himself, Johnson & Wales University President Art Gallagher and other guests, including the publisher of the Durham-based magazine Baseball America and a guest.

...The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce was given other CRVA perks.

In fall 2008, Newman attended N.C. State University's opening football game against the University of South Carolina in Columbia and bought $278 worth of tickets for the chamber.

Has Henry given tickets to Greensboro's Chamber members,

City Council or County Commissioners?

...Newman said the CRVA applies what he calls a "reasonableness" test to determine how much it should spend on clients and people in the community.

Does Henry go by the same "reasonableness" test?

...Until recently, the Charlotte City Council gave the CRVA little scrutiny, despite the fact that it's a subsidiary of the city and its board is appointed by the mayor and council members.

Should the Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

recieve a little bit more scrutiny?

...City Manager Curt Walton said the city doesn't conduct in-depth reviews of CRVA expenses.

Does Rashad Young?

...In other instances, the CRVA has lost track of how its tickets were used. It bought $300 of tickets to see the Bobcats play LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008 but doesn't have any record of who used them.

How many tickets has Henry "lost track of"?

At the 2009 Quail Hollow Championship, where Tiger Woods competed, the CRVA bought $4,500 worth of tickets to the Overlook Club -- which this year includes an "upscale buffet and beverages" as well as "access to executive restrooms." The CRVA said it doesn't know who used the tickets.

Newman said his expenses are also reviewed by auditors and the N.C. Local Government Commission.

A spokesperson for the N.C. Department of State Treasurer said the commission doesn't review detailed expenses.

The CRVA is required by law to submit its audited financial statements to the State and Local Government Finance Division, which is the staff to the Local Government Commission.

Really.

But state treasurer spokesperson Heather Strickland said in an email that the finance division's auditor "provides an opinion about the statements, attesting to whether or not the statements materially represent the financial status of the CRVA at the report date.

The State and Local Government Finance Division does not review individual expenditures in detail."

The Charlotte Observer

Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny Wants Citizens To Buy Tickets, But His Are Free, any Ethical ?

During the Greensboro City Council meeting on 1-4-2011, at the end of the agenda when each council member gets time to talk about anything they wish to, Councilman Zack Matheny invited everyone to come to some family events that were going on at the Greensboro Coliseum.

In the above embedded clip, Zach talks of if attending the Ringling Brothers Circus, then "ALL NON CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL HAVE TO PURCHASE TICKETS TO THIS EVENT".

Why did Zack Matheny have this to say about the circus?

It is because when Danny Thompson first was elected to council during their meeting last year, he said the following in the embedded clip.

"Free Tickets to the Circus Handed Out by Greensboro CIty Council Members, Is This Legal, Ethical or Conflict of Interest"

If you would like to see the post CLICKHERE




Then we have fellow TRIADWATCH blogger George Hartzman during a City council meeting exchange with Zack Matheny:





Here's another post titled "Part #2, Free Tickets at the Greensboro Coliseum, Did Sitting Council Member Get a Free Pass To The ACC Tournament? " CLICKHERE

Now we come full circle where a sitting councilman is admitting that he is getting free tickets to the circus and telling non council members that they have to buy their own tickets.

Does anybody see these free tickets for sitting council members as unethical?

Who is actually giving these tickets, and is it legal under state law?

Should freebees be reported?

How many other events are the sitting council members getting free tickets too that they are not telling us about?

If anyone is going to the coveted ACC Tournament this year, please inform the public of which sitting council members happen to be in audience, because it would be interesting to see if they paid the $400 or so dollars for a book to get into this tournament, or what other arrangments were made.

Free tickets to the Greensboro Coliseum to sitting council members needs to be off limits for plenty of reasons but it doesn't seem to bother our local politicians on this matter as seen from above.

Dear Doug Clark: What about the ethics of the News & Record's "barter agreement" tickets?...Why not mention the N&R's Conflict of Interest?

A Different Ball Game

The crowds and the quality of basketball aren’t the only things in decline at the ACC tournament. So is its political prestige.

Back when, the tournament was The Place to Be for The Powers That Be. A walk around the concourse was a power walk among legislators, decision-makers and North Carolina’s elite.

But long-time tournament-goers tell me it has changed dramatically. One long-time lobbyist said that, the last time he went, he walked around the concourse twice and didn’t see a soul he knew. He came home Thursday and watched the rest of the games on TV.

What happened?

Ethics happened. Legislators can no longer accept free tickets from the universities and corporate lobbyists. And they’re too cheap to buy their own.

And so another great political tradition dribbles off into history.

Gary Pearce, via Doug Clark

Previously:

If the Coliseum receives $1.8 million from Greensboro taxpayers per year,
how many free tickets has the GN&R’s Editorial Board received from whom?

The Greensboro News & Record's Code of Ethics

Why would the Rhino Times, which receives ad revenue from the Coliseum,
explain a free ACC ticket issue with a caveat?

Bartering With The Greensboro Coliseum Part #2 Greensboro News and Record

Shameless cheerleading / propaganda without disclosing conflicts of interest,
by Greensboro’s News & Record Editorial Board?

Why are free meals out of bounds for ABC managers
but free tickets to the Circus OK for City Council Members?

Free Tickets To The Circus Handed Out By Greensboro City Council Members,
Is This Legal or Ethical or Conflict of Interest?

Elected Officials in Charlotte Have Their Own Version of Free Tickets,
Time for a State Law Banning Free Tickets

ABC Board and unreported City Council Ticket Scandal Revisit:
Regulator on the pay to play take, gets job with those regulated?

Should the ABC Board Resign?

Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny
Did Receive Free Tickets To Greensboro Coliseum Video Embedded

Greensboro City Council ...Email from Rhino Times
for Free Skating and Concert Tickets ...Mary never saw the email...

On the Rhino and journalism ethics: publishers,
reporters and those who endorse political candidates "giving" complimentary anything

Rhino Times Barter Agreement with the Taxpayer Owned and Funded Greensboro Coliseum

Ringling Brothers Circus Solicits Free Tickets to Greensboro City Council Member Trudy Wade

What about the ethics of the News & Record's "barter agreement" tickets?...Why not mention the N&R's Conflict of Interest?

Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny Wants Citizens To Buy Tickets, But His Are Free, any Ethical ?

During the Greensboro City Council meeting on 1-4-2011, at the end of the agenda when each council member gets time to talk about anything they wish to, Councilman Zack Matheny invited everyone to come to some family events that were going on at the Greensboro Coliseum.

In the above embedded clip, Zach talks of if attending the Ringling Brothers Circus, then "ALL NON CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL HAVE TO PURCHASE TICKETS TO THIS EVENT".

Why did Zack Matheny have this to say about the circus?

It is because when Danny Thompson first was elected to council during their meeting last year, he said the following in the embedded clip.

"Free Tickets to the Circus Handed Out by Greensboro CIty Council Members, Is This Legal, Ethical or Conflict of Interest"

If you would like to see the post CLICKHERE




Then we have fellow TRIADWATCH blogger George Hartzman during a City council meeting exchange with Zack Matheny:





Here's another post titled "Part #2, Free Tickets at the Greensboro Coliseum, Did Sitting Council Member Get a Free Pass To The ACC Tournament? " CLICKHERE

Now we come full circle where a sitting councilman is admitting that he is getting free tickets to the circus and telling non council members that they have to buy their own tickets.

Does anybody see these free tickets for sitting council members as unethical?

Who is actually giving these tickets, and is it legal under state law?

Should freebees be reported?

How many other events are the sitting council members getting free tickets too that they are not telling us about?

If anyone is going to the coveted ACC Tournament this year, please inform the public of which sitting council members happen to be in audience, because it would be interesting to see if they paid the $400 or so dollars for a book to get into this tournament, or what other arrangments were made.

Free tickets to the Greensboro Coliseum to sitting council members needs to be off limits for plenty of reasons but it doesn't seem to bother our local politicians on this matter as seen from above.

Matheny on misleading: Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny Did Receive Free Tickets To Greensboro Coliseum Video Embedded

"He says the council has been a poster child for transparency in government," Matheny said.

"I would say Danny is the poster child for misleading the citizens."

Joe Killian

NOTE: if you see a blank screen above please click it on and the embedded video will show up,

Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny Did Receive Free Tickets To Greensboro Coliseum Video Embedded

NOTE: if you see a blank screen above please click it on and the embedded video will show up,

During the November 9, 2010 Greensboro City Council meeting, fellow contributor to TRIADWATCH George Hartzman spoke to council members on a agenda item which turned into talking about them receiving free tickets to events at the Greensboro Coliseum. As you can see in the above embedded video we now have Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny on record telling everyone that he did receive free tickets to the Greensboro Coliseum.

This all started back February 20, 2010 with a post titled "Free Tickets to Coliseum Handed Out By Greensboro City Council Members, Is This Legal, Ethical or Conflict of Interest?" CLICKHERE .
This is where Greensboro City Council member Danny Thompson thanked fellow council members for letting them have their allotment of circus tickets for him to use.

Now this past week when George Hartzman asked the question again we have Zack Matheny go on record as saying he received and used the circus tickets free of charge . Will the local media talk about this issue probably not because everyone one of them are also on the free ticket trough with barter agreements from print, weekly newspapers and news 2. If you would like to see barter agreements with local businesses CLICKHERE  .

This is serious stuff where we have a local ABC General Manager getting fired for receiving free meals and tickets  but not any ramifications or policy changes when the Greensboro City Council members receives free tickets to events out at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Greensboro City Council on a regular basis votes on plenty of issues in regards to the Greensboro Coliseum and knowing that they get free tickets to events out at coliseum is completely unethical and should be abolished.

Jeff Hyde on Hiding of Raffle Winner, It Keeps On Going and Going and Going

This raffle issue with N.C. Senate candidate Jeff Hyde is like the energizer bunny it keeps on going and going and going. Here is a little back post on this issue from July 19, 2010 with a title of post "Jeff Hyde Campaign and the Mysterious Raffle Winner, Who is the Winner?" CLICKHERE .

Now we have a article in this weeks Rhino Times with a title "Hyde Raffle Report Still Raises Questions", CLICKHERE . In this article John Hammer had this to say:

 "The problems started when the raffle was won by Hyde's sister Becky Smith, a fact that he would not confirm until last week when he was told that it was a matter of public record in a memo from the North Carolina State Board of Elections.



And it gets worse. Hyde's sister didn't buy a ticket and didn't want the $5,000 that she won in the raffle, so the campaign never awarded a prize and just kept the $5,000. The campaign has raised about $28,000 total, so $5,000 is a considerable amount of the campaign finances and, according to the reports currently filed, there was no $5,000 payout and no $5,000 donation. "


Finally we find out that Becky Smith is Jeff Hyde's sister, but wait it gets better. Later in the article here is what was written:

"This week Hyde said he and his wife bought 10 tickets, his father bought one ticket and a cousin bought two tickets. They all had the last name Hyde and accounted for 13 of the 83 raffle tickets sold. Hyde said that in case one of the tickets bought by a family member won, they thought it would be better if the winner announced was not named Hyde, so they put his sister's name on all 13 tickets. She had a pretty good chance of winning, since her name was on 13 of 83 tickets, or almost 16 percent of the tickets."


Now we see that he wants to put every person with a last name hyde under the name of his sister becky smith for the raffle. If we take what was said above in that jeff and his wife bought 10 tickets then on his campaign returns it does show $1,000 between the 2 of them but it was not designated for raffle as some other people who did give to his campaign in the returns. Also , if the raffle tickets cost $100 a piece and we see that his father bought a raffle ticket but on his campaign returns it shows a Richard C. Hyde from Gastonia N.C. with a $27.00 contribution well below the $100 raffle contribution he was advertising. If you look at his blog he had a campaign to get $27 by the 27th for the 27th district of April not for his raffle. So if Richard Hyde is his father then he didn't give to the raffle either but was counted in the raffle.

When you have contests and other raffles there are plenty of rules like for example no family members or people who work for the companies can win prizes or raffles. This raffle is a great example of why no family members should be able to win and Jeff Hyde knew better but has wanted to hide this for a long time now. All he needed to do is come clean at the beginning and plenty of us who look at campaign laws and returns would have said ok it was a novice mistake but now we see there is more to the story from the Rhino Times and below is the scribd version of the Jeff Hyde's campaign returns with the raffle members who did give on his returns

jeff hyde committee 2010 campaign report second quarter


North Carolina campaign laws doesn't talk about using raffles for your campaigns but even in Guilford County we have had a few others use a raffle to get campaign contributions from Trudy Wade to Lisa Ingle Clapp. If we can consider what has happened in the Jeff Hyde raffle and what has not been reported on his campaign returns where we all know that he needs to amend his returns and show that his sister did give a $5,000 contribution for winning the raffle then this would have cleared up all of this a long time ago.

It also might be time to let our state legislatures know that we might need some ground rules on who can win from campaign raffles or if you do have a raffle to get campaign money then the campaigner and his family members cannot be a part of the raffle for reasons like what we have seen in this issue with the Jeff Hyde Committee.

Greensboro City Council Member Mary Rakestraw Email from Rhino Times for Free Skating and Concert Tickets

rhino e mail to greensboro city council member on free tickets to skating event

Here we go again where we have a email between Greensboro City Council member Mary Rakestraw and William Hammer from the weekly newspaper Rhino Times with him e mailing the sitting council member if she knew anyone who was interested in free tickets to the US Figure Skating Championship. Then at the end of the e mail embedded above you will also see William Hammer from the Rhino also ask if she wanted to holler back on tickets to see Sleeping Booty at Allure on friday night.

Let me try to explain to all local elected officials. You should not be taking free tickets to any event or concert, PERIOD. After seeing this email exchange between a local weekly newspaper and a local elected official it is time ask the question.

Did Greensboro City Council member Mary Rakestraw take free tickets from the Rhino Times and go to the US Figure Skating Championship this past weekend?

Did Greensboro City Council member Mary Rakestraw get free tickets to see Sleeping Booty at Allure on friday night?

This is on top of other issues of free tickets given out to sitting Greensboro City Council members with another post from January 7, 2011 titled "Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny Wants Citizens To Buy Tickets but His are Free. any Ethical ? CLICKHERE

Why would the Rhino Times, which receives ad revenue from the Coliseum, explain a free ACC ticket issue with a caveat?

Tournament Tickets

...Do you know how many ticket books are given to the Coliseum and…who gets them?...

Anonymous [Rhino Letter to the Editor submitter]

[Rhino] Editors Note: Elected officials do not get free tickets to the ACC tournament from the Coliseum.

Rhino Times, February 25, 2010

Hartzman Questions:

Why the qualified response?

Does any entity give elected officials free tickets for anything
at the Coliseum or anywhere else?

If the Coliseum receives $1.8 million from Greensboro taxpayers per year,
how much does the Rhino receive in advertizing dollars
indirectly paid for with some of the community’s money?

If the Coliseum receives $1.8 million from Greensboro taxpayers per year,
how many complimentary tickets have the Rhino or its employees received from whom?

If some have received free tickets,
has any reporting and/or budgetary appropriation been compromised?

Aren’t gifts to elected officials supposed to be reported?

If those who received free tickets did not attend said events,
who did, and what was the face value of any admissions
relative to any campaign contributions?

If tickets were circulated for the Circus,
were some distributed for “Around the World in 80 Days” at Triad Stage?

Please contact TriadWatch with any interesting tidbits.

Free Tickets To The Circus Handed Out By Greensboro City Council Members, Is This Legal or Ethical or Conflict of Interest?

Greensboro and Guilford County Information Requests Emailed February 24, 2010

Avoid Getting a Speeding Ticket in Amherst County, Virginia: Unanswered Information Request for Amherst County Virginia

Mr. Hartzman,

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your records requests.

However, because you are not a citizen

of the Commonwealth of Virginia

we are not required to fulfill such request...

Respectfully,

John R Grieser

Administration Captain/

Accreditation Manager

Amherst Co Sheriff's Office

115 Taylor Street

P.O. Box 410

Amherst, VA 24521

"These are the average number of speeding tickets given out per month:

Amherst County: 394 - Population 32,353
Bedford County: 110 - Population 68,676

Campbell County: 99 - Population 54,842
Appomattox County: 80 - Population 14,973

394 x 12 = 4,728 for 32,353 residents?

"We do have a very strong traffic safety program
and we have pushed over the past few years to improve it
as much as we possibly can," said Robbie Oliver
with the Amherst County Sheriff's Office.

If there were 12,958 housing units in Amherst County in 2000

and fines and forfeitures was $423,733 in 2010

was each household fined about $32.70 each?

Amherst County currently writes an average of 394 tickets each month,
and that does not include tickets given by State Police.

If only 10% of Amherst County's households were fined in 2010,

did each pay about $327.206 each?

Many of the citations come on Route 29,
a stretch of road nicknamed the Virginia Autobahn.

Fines and Forfeitures have risen in the Amherst County reported budget
From $160,049 in FY 2008 to $423,733 in 2010.

"The 29 bypass that goes through Amherst County
is probably about as close as you are going to get
to Interstate 81 or Interstate 95," said Travis Barr from Virginia State Police.

But the new busiest spot in Amherst County
is the work zone on the Nelson County line.

"The pace at this particular work zone is,
you can average 3 to 4 tickets an hour easily," said Oliver.

Deputies say they typically sit less than a minute
before they spot someone going at least 17 over the speed limit.

Amherst and Nelson have paid for that bridge with speeding tickets.

...I always see people pulled over.

I have literally seen Amherst and Nelson deputies

along with State Police have cars pulled over simultaneously.

...It's all about the revenue, not public safety.

dnmg432

The speed limit drops down to 45,
and there are nine work zone signs pointing it out.

...other than the state police,
every locality in this area gives plenty of warnings,
up to 160 a month.

How many warnings per ticket in Amherst County?

How many warnings for the locals,

as opposed to those from elsewhere?

...Several of the localities say their average speeding ticket
is written for 19 to 21 miles over the speed limit."

Please provide 10 years worth of budget revenue line

014010-0001 fines and forfeitures

for Amherst County Budget Revenues.

Please provide 10 years of statistical information

on traffic tickets issued between the Monday before

and the Monday after Thanksgiving

including county of residence, state of residence

violations and fines of those issued tickets.

023000-2302 SHARE SHERIFF'S EXPENSES

FY 09......$1,569,990

FY 10......$1,997,547

FY 11......$2,000,000

FY 12......$2,000,000

If Amherst County Sheriff's Expenses rose by $430,010

between 09 and 11,

could it have something to do

wih another $263,684 per year in fines?

Why would the Rhino Times, which receives ad revenue and free tickets from the taxpayer owned Coliseum, explain a free ACC ticket issue with a caveat?

Tournament Tickets

...Do you know how many ticket books are given to the Coliseum and…who gets them?...

Anonymous [Rhino Letter to the Editor submitter]

[Rhino] Editors Note: Elected officials do not get free tickets to the ACC tournament from the Coliseum.

Rhino Times


Why the qualified response?

Does any entity give elected officials free tickets for anything
at the Coliseum or anywhere else?

If the Coliseum receives $1.8 million from Greensboro taxpayers per year,
how much does the Rhino receive in advertizing dollars
indirectly paid for with some of the community’s money?

If the Coliseum receives $1.8 million from Greensboro taxpayers per year,
how many complimentary tickets have the Rhino or its employees received from whom?

If some have received free tickets,
has any reporting and/or budgetary appropriation been compromised?

Aren’t gifts to elected officials supposed to be reported?

If those who received free tickets did not attend said events,
who did, and what was the face value of any admissions
relative to any campaign contributions?

Triad Stage Giving Out Freebies to Greensboro City Council Members , Should This Be Allowed?

Should a Public Official accept free tickets from an agency vendor to a sporting event, concert, play, or fundraising event?

Answer: Generally, no. It is generally not proper for Public Officials to accept gifts or services from someone whom the official regulates, contracts with, or otherwise does business with as part of his service as a Public Official. At a minimum, this can cause the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Does it make any difference if the tickets to a sporting event are season tickets or tickets the vendor received as part of its sponsorship of the event so that there was no purchase made specifically for the Public Official?

Answer: No. It does not matter how the vendor got the tickets NC BOARD OF ETHICS

Public records request from the City of Greensboro in regards to Triad Stage and freebies to the Greensboro City Council.

Your request regarding if the “current City of Greensboro Council Members accepted any free anything from Triad Stage?,” yielded the following response after polling the Council Members:

“Perkins – Yes
Johnson – Yes
Abuzuaiter – No
Wade – No
Hoffmann – No
Vaughan – Yes, but she has also purchased numerous tickets for children’s plays.
Kee – No
Matheny – No
DBS – Yes, but has given them to constituents to use.”

This should complete this information request.

Regards,

Public Information Desk
City of Greensboro

300 W. Washington Street

Greensboro, NC 27401

How did Greensboro City Council Member Robbie Perkins Get Front Row Seats With Duke as Team Host?

Greensboro City Council Member Robbie Perkins Gets Front Row Seats With Dook as Team Host, Please Explain?

Reading the Greensboro News and Record this morning with a great article on the trumpet played during the ACC basketball tournament by Jim Isley. We have a interesting tidbit that came out at the end of the article. Sorry that i could not link the article because it is in the e edition of the Greensboro News and Record which you need to be a subscriber to access.

In the article this is what was written

"It was a outpouring of patriotism that you don't see everyday", said Robbie Perkins, a City Council member who sat behind the Duke Bench and served as an official team host. 

Can someone please explain what are the job duties of a team host and where do we sign up to be the team host. It would be nice to get front row seats for the ACC Tournament especially when it is a UNC Vs. Dook final game where tickets were going for well over the $100 upper level and $250 lower level and could only imagine what front row tickets would go for. I am sure a elected official would not be taking free tickets and can prove that he bought those tickets or can the councilman explain what a team host actually does.

Is there a formal process to become a team host for all the ACC schools and if so please show us the process for becoming a team host. Maybe Ed Cone would like to be the team host for the UNC Tar Heels.

Also at the Greensboro City Council meeting on 3-15-2011 a few of the elected officials mentioned the ACC tournament and the great job that was done and some actually attended some of the games like councilman Zack Matheny mentioned at end of meeting. It would be nice to see if these elected officials paid for these tickets or were they freebies from who knows where.

Information Request for Amherst County Virginia

Please provide 10 years worth of budget revenue line
014010-0001 fines and forfeitures
for Amherst County Budget Revenues.