Gov. Corbett Gets His Football and Hockey Tix For Free. How About You?


The Philadelphia Daily News reports: “A Daily News examination of state disclosure forms found that (Gov. Tom) Corbett and his wife, Susan, accepted $11,343 in gifts from business executives, lobbyists or lobbying firms in 2010 – when the former attorney general mounted his successful campaign for governor – and in 2011, his first year in office. Besides the hockey tickets, Corbett or his wife were feted by business interests with Steelers playoffs tickets, private jet travel, seats at a swank gala for the Philadelphia Orchestra, a Rhode Island summer vacation aboard a businessman’s yacht – even money to help pay for the first lady’s inauguration gown. Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, said the good-government group would like all gifts to public officials barred. He noted that an executive or lobbyist who sits next to the governor at a football game or on a corporate jet is getting access that the average voter can’t match. The gift-givers, he said, “understand that even if it’s a small gift, these benefits affect human nature.”