Mayor OK with free Olympic tickets

Kamloops Daily News: February 2,2010

Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar says he’s prepared for the backlash. Just one day after a political counterpart of his in the Fraser Valley made headlines for declining free tickets to the Olympics, Milobar confirms he has accepted free tickets of his own. B.C. Lottery Corp. offered mayors throughout B.C. tickets to the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics — an offer Chilliwack mayor Sharon Gaetz turned down. “I didn’t request them,” Milobar said Monday. “And I didn’t set up the internal policy the lotteries board has in terms of . . . how they’re choosing to distribute tickets.” Milobar plans to attend the opening ceremonies with his wife, using the non-transferable tickets offered by the lottery corporation. He said he weighed the decision carefully before accepting them. “I guess everything I do can be viewed as a right move or a wrong move,” said Milobar, who expects some Kamloops voters will disapprove of his decision. “I’m sure there are people in the community who feel I shouldn’t have accepted them, but a lot of that, I think, stems from people feeling that the Olympics shouldn’t be happening anyway.” Tickets to the opening ceremonies range from $175 to $1,100.

Editor’s note: Tickets received by the City via the Gamestown program are being passed along to the public. The City has received no tickets from B.C. Transmission Corp. or BC Hydro. Mayor Peter Milobar will attend opening ceremonies with non-transferable tickets provided by B.C. Lottery Corp., while tickets to closing ceremonies were added to those that go to the public through Gamestown in an online contest. It’s our understanding the acceptance of tickets in no way contravene the Community Charter.