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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.
A letter to the editor on the issue appears in today’s Letters section.
menthelius says... 
Kamloopsians can be VERY rough on city council - some perhaps deserved, some not so much. As far as I can see, this Mayor does not have the reputation of spending his time going to freebie events, so let's not blow it out of perspective. I look at it this way - I am very comfortable with our Mayor representing Kamloops at an event (largely supported by the Provincial Gov't) vs. being from a community that "snubbed" it. Not saying I fully support the Olympics, but it's called politics and sometimes it's better to be "included" than sitting on the sidelines to make a statement that most won't even notice. Just a side note - although some lotteries DO direct profits exclusively to health care, some distribute profits to various things (education, music, sports, etc.) There is no concrete mandate to direct all BC lottery earnings to the healthcare system. In addition, BCLC is a business and have to conduct "business" just like any other.
Posted on February 10, 2010 @ 3:27 am PST | Report post to Editor | 3241217