From Jim Metrock:
Alabama public servants once again used their public office for personal gain.
Below is a link to see the list of those who were granted special access to Auburn football tickets. Every other Alabamian has to donate money to Auburn’s athletic department just to get an opportunity buy season tickets and post season tickets. But not fat cat Alabama politicians, they can just contact the universities and request their tickets. In effect these hotshots break in line in front of students, faculty, scholarship donors and the rest of the public.
This special access to tickets is smelly enough, but this unethical deal gets worse.
Politicians – as opposed to school teachers or factory workers – only have to pay FACE VALUE for the tickets. They will NEVER pay more. These public officials think they are better than regular Alabamians. They would rather not pay scalper prices or ticket agency prices and so the university, both Auburn and Alabama, don’t make them pay a premium.
Keep in mind these officials did not earn these tickets. These much sought after tickets are not a part of their statutory pay and benefits package. The universities are simply giving these VIPs a gift and our sluggish and impotent Ethics Commission won’t do a thing about it. These greedy public officials should be reporting the difference between the market value of the tickets and what they paid on their required financial reporting forms.
Many of these officials are apparently buying the tickets at face value and then selling them for a often significant profit or they are making them available to friends or donors thus racking up favors with people than can later be converted into donations. The whole thing stinks.
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/03/which_alabama_public_officials.html
