Cotton Bowl tickets for two Oklahoma City Council members draws questions Oklahoman February 1, 2014 Two Oklahoma City Council members accepted free tickets in a corporate suite for the 2014 Cotton Bowl from an executive whose company does millions of dollars in business with the city. It appears nothing illegal occurred but given the value of the tickets, some city officials expressed surprise. Ward 1 Councilman James Greiner and Ward 7 Councilman John Pettis accepted Cotton Bowl ticket packages worth close to $900 each from Rick Padgett of Waste Management of Oklahoma. Both councilmen are Oklahoma State University football fans — Pettis attended the university and Greiner graduated from OSU with a bachelor of fine arts degree in graphic design. The Cowboys lost to Missouri 41-31 in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 3. The game was that evening at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the Dallas Cowboys play. Waste Management has trash hauling and recycling contracts with Oklahoma City worth an estimated $13.8 million per year, according to city figures. The company also shares in a $4.8 million landfill contract with three other companies. The current contracts were approved by the council before Greiner and Pettis, now serving their first terms, were elected. The contracts would come up for renewal before their terms end. Both councilmen said the gifts would not affect their judgment when it comes to evaluating Waste Managements bids on city business. Ward 3 Councilman Larry McAtee, who has been on the council for 12 years, said he found the invitation to attend such a high-profile event as a contractors guest to be very unusual. McAtee said he maintains a personal “basic decision barometer,” derived from his reading of the Bible, that emphasizes the importance of avoiding any appearance of impropriety. The value of gifts ought to be a matter of public record, said Ward 4 Councilman Pete White, another longtime member of the council. “There has to be some disclosure or some kind of transparency,” he said. Its common for council members to accept tickets for events such as last weeks State of the City address, White said. That event, centered around a speech by the mayor, is sponsored by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, the citys leading business organization. White emphasized Greiner and Pettis did nothing illegal in accepting tickets to the football game. “Each person can evaluate for themselves what their standard is,” he said. The city attorney, Kenneth Jordan, agreed there is “in general nothing in state law or the city charter that forbids council members from accepting gifts offered by businesses that have contracts with the city.” According to interviews with those involved, Padgett contacted the city councils chief of staff, Debi Martin, on Dec. 11 to say he had tickets to Waste Managements AT&T Stadium suite for the Cotton Bowl. Martin said Padgett asked whether there were any OSU fans who would like to go. Martin said she emailed Greiner and Pettis. After they accepted, Padgett dropped off sealed, addressed envelopes with the tickets for Greiner and Pettis and, “I told them they were here,” she said. Greta Calvery, a Waste Management spokeswoman, said Padgett told her the envelopes each contained two tickets and a parking pass. Each ticket had a face value of $225; parking passes were worth either $45 or $75, she said. Dividing costs among the 28 people who were in the suite, the food and beverage bill came out to $186 per person, she said. That brought the total value of each councilmans package, depending on the parking pass, to $867 or $897. Greiner said he attended with his wife, and drove back to Oklahoma City after the game. Pettis drove to the Dallas area with his father, and attended the game with a friend. He and his father stayed overnight with family before driving home, he said. Both councilmen paid for their own transportation. “I dont think Waste Managements motives were illegitimate or unethical,” Greiner said. Pettis says disadvantaged neighborhoods bear an unfair burden when it comes to living near dusty, smelly landfills — an issue he says is one of “environmental justice.” Pettis attended a sustainability seminar Thursday in Phoenix sponsored by Waste Management. The city paid $695 for his plane ticket. Landfill operators need to change the way they do business, he said after returning. “Right now its poor people and minorities that have to smell trash and look at trash,” he said. “Im still holding Waste Managements feet to the fire.”
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 14:53:18 +0000
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