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Chandler mayor to amend disclosures over football tickets by Edythe Jensen - Jun. 29, 2011 10:15 AM The Arizona Republic Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny said he will amend the financial disclosure forms he filed when he was a state senator after it was made public that he accepted free Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Arizona Cardinals football game tickets. Although state law requires lawmakers to disclose gifts if their value exceeds $500, Tibshraeny said he doesn't believe he did anything wrong but "will err on the side of caution" by amending his disclosures. The UA tickets alone were valued at $615. [ Yea, I am a royal government ruler! It is impossible for me to do anything wrong! ] The mayor, who returned to the top city post in January after eight years in the Senate, accepted more UA tickets than any other Arizona lawmaker according to documents obtained through public records requests. He also accepted tickets to every ASU game last year, but said he didn't attend them all. And he got free tickets to two Cardinals games. [ Swear to God, "I'm not a crook!, I didn't attend all of the games"! ] "I always ran that stuff through legal counsel to make sure it conformed to state laws," Tibshraeny said about accepting the free tickets. [ Then why did you accept the tickets without reporting them? ] The universities and Cardinals have been giving tickets to legislators for many years, but if constituents oppose the practice then the Legislature should stop it, he said. The Republic's review of financial disclosure reports found that three former state lawmakers - Republicans Thayer Verschoor of Gilbert and Jim Weiers of Phoenix, and Democrat Pete Rios of Hayden - disclosed ASU gifts. Tibshraeny could soon be getting more ticket offers as mayor but not to multiple games. Mayors and council members of Valley cities are invited to at least one ASU football game every year where they sit with President Michael Crow. Councilman Rick Heumann and former Councilman Bob Caccamo said they have attended. "It wasn't a lobbying effort; it was to promote goodwill, get us together so we can interact and talk about issues or just watch the game and be friendly," Caccamo said. "Tickets to our football games are not considered gifts but are exempted as special events under the law, and ASU reports the costs involved," said Virgil Renzulli, ASU's vice president of public affairs. He said state lawmakers, city councils from throughout the Valley, chambers of commerce, community groups and members of the military and their wives or guests are invited "as part of our cultivation and connection to the community . . . football is one of the major connectors. It's not an attempt to influence anybody. This is all done above board, within the law and without ulterior motives." [ Translation - We are equal opportunity crooks! ] The university has campuses in many cities and is in talks with Chandler to bring a facility there, Renzulli said. Tibshraeny said his presence at university football games was more about the way he conducts business in elected office than snagging free entertainment. "I utilized them (the tickets) to get to know the university folks better; I looked at it as an extension of my duties," he said, citing Chandler's ongoing negotiations to bring a UA campus to the city. He compared his game attendance to going to employee recognition events or speaking to neighborhood groups. And invitations to college games shouldn't be compared to the recent Fiesta Bowl scandal, Renzulli said. For years the Fiesta Bowl curried legislative favor by handing out free game tickets and taking lawmakers on expensive out-of-state trips. News of that practice led to an investigation, potentially illegal employee conduct and spending irregularities that put the bowl's non-profit status and prestigious role in college football's national-championship series in jeopardy. Renzulli said ASU invites a rotating list of about 80 to visit with Crow for one game each season. "We are a state university, and this is our constituency. We're not cherry-picking a few people, bringing them out and hitting them up for something." [ We don't hit up a few people for money, we hit up EVERYBODY for money. ] Reporter Craig Harris contributed to this article. |