No Problem with Mayor Attending Opening Ceremonies

(Aired on February 8, 2010)

The current minor controversy regarding whether or not officials should be using complementary tickets to Olympics events is too much ado about nothing. Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar is among those using tickets provided by various groups, in his case the B.C. Lottery Corporation. Other officials, like the Mayor of Chilliwack, have opted not to. In my view, it's an individual decision, and as long as it's transparent, I don't really see a problem. If our Mayor can use the event to do some networking on behalf of the city, what's the problem? City officials get invited to events all the time. In many cases, they get a free ticket for themselves, and perhaps their spouse. There may be some who see that as a conflict of interest. They believe that there should not only be no conflict, there should be no perception of a conflict. But we expect our civic officials to be at various events to represent us, and to glad hand the public. I don't think that's a bad thing.

And, again, as long as it's transparent, it's not an issue. It doesn't make a councilor a bad person, or a shady character, as some would have you believe. Some see this as an issue. I think they're really being silly if they think a councilor would give a benefit to a company because they got a ticket to a dinner. But they're entitled to their opinion. Unless the taxpayers are going to give the Mayor and Council a much bigger expense account, it's a moot point for me.

I know there are some self-righteous people out there who would argue against my views, but I guess that's their right. We've had this issue in newsrooms across the country over the years. Some, for example, never go to a function unless their company pays the freight for the ticket. They don't want to be seen as taking "favours" from someone. And that's OK. Many functions have media tables where the media can sit to cover an event, and they don't have to eat the dinner if they don't want, to show how pure they are.

But events for mayor and council are a little different, and part of their responsibility is to be in the public and represent the taxpayers. As far as Mayor Milobar's trip to the opening ceremonies goes, Peter, have a great time, enjoy the event, and forget about those who for some reason can't see the bigger picture.