Aug 2004
Public Access TV Advocates Call on City Council Members Dixon, Curran, Harris, and Mitchell to Recuse Themselves from Cable Franchise Vote
Mon., Aug. 23, 2004 Filed in: BGM press
releases
News Release: August
23, 2004
For more information contact:
Amanda Bowers: (410) 371-8218
These Four Council Members’ Financial Ties to Comcast Appear to Show Conflicts of Interest, Advocates Say
BALTIMORE, MD—City Council President Sheila Dixon and Council Members Robert Curran, Keiffer Mitchell, Jr., and Kenneth Harris should stand aside from voting on the City’s proposed franchise agreement with Comcast because of their financialties to the cable giant, according to members of Baltimore Grassroots Media (BGM), a citywide coalition of concerned citizens, public access volunteers, and producers.
Using data from the current election cycle on file at the State Board of Elections, BGM determined that Dixon, Curran, and Mitchell each received substantial campaign contributions from Comcast for their current reelection campaigns. These same three Council members accepted gifts from Comcast in the form of sporting events tickets worth approximately $100 to $200, according to a report by Doug Donovan of The Sun. Additionally, City Council member Kenneth Harris works for Comcast as the company’s director of business services and received a $250 contribution on July 17, 2003 from Comcast Sr. VP Barbara Gehrig.
“Comcast doesn’t give campaign contributions and sports tickets to City Council members out of the goodness of its heart,” said Amanda Bowers, BGM’s spokesperson. “It does so with a clear intent to influence the legislative process for its benefit, at the expense of the public interest.”
The Baltimore Ethics Code requires elected officials to “disqualify himself or herself” in any matter involving “a business entity which is a creditor or obligee of the elected official... with respect to a thing of economic value” [City Charter, Article 8 § 4-2 (a)]. The Code also makes it clear that City officials are to “guard against undue influence” and stand aside from matters where there is even an “appearance” of a conflict of interest [Article 8 § 1-2 (d)].
Below is a list of contributions that Comcast has given to the reelection campaigns of Dixon, Curran, and Mitchell.
To City Council President Sheila Dixon:
$2,000 received from Comcast on 7/31/03
$500 received from Comcast’s Mid-Atlantic President Stephen Burch on 5/7/03
$1,000 received from Comcast VP/General Manager Kenneth Crooks on 6/18/03
$1,000 received from Comcast Sr. Vice-President Barbara Gehrig, also on 6/18/03
————
$4,500 minimum total received from Comcast and its executives (current cycle only)
To City Councilman Robert Curran:
$250 received from Comcast on 8/26/03
$250 received from Comcast VP/GM Crooks on 8/15/03
$250 received from Comcast Sr. VPGehrig on 7/18/03
———
$750 minimum total received from Comcast and its executives (current cycle only)
To City Councilman Keiffer Mitchell, Jr.:
$250 received from Comcast on 8/22/03
$500 received from Comcast VP/GM Crooks on 11/6/03
———
$750 minimum total received from Comcast and its executives (current cycle only)
Council members Helen Holton, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Edward Reisinger, and Bernard “Jack” Young received lesser amounts from executives at Comcast, though not from the company itself, during the current election cycle. However, BGM finds Dixon, Curran, and Mitchell’s pattern of accepting multiple contributions and gifts from Comcast and its executives to be far more serious.
Members of the the Mayor’s Office, which negotiated the franchise agreement with Comcast, and of the Board of Estimates, which grants final approval for the agreement, have also benefited from Comcast’s money. Comptroller Joan Pratt’s campaign received $1,000 from Comcast (8/1/03), and an additional $250 from Comcast Sr. VPBarbara Gehrig (6/18/03). Gehrig has also given to Mayor Martin O’Malley’s reelection campaign a total of $3,000, in addition to the $4,000 he received from Comcast Mid-Atlantic President Burch (5/14/03). Comcast is also a major contributor to Mayor O’Malley’s BELIEVE campaign. Moreover, at least two former members of O’Malley’s adminIstration accepted gifts from the company, according to The Sun.
City Council member Kwame Abayomi said there is “too loose a line” between what is considered ethical and unethical behavior for Council members. Regarding the gifts members of Council and the Mayor’s Office received from Comcast, Abayomi said, “Some of the perks are at the line or cross it.” BGM calls on all all members of City Council and the Board of Estimates, as well as officials in the Mayor’s Office, to publicly reveal any contributions or gifts from the current election cycle that they have received from Comcast but not yet disclosed.
Baltimore Grassroots Media’s members are united in their advocacy of an adequately-funded, democratically-controlled, well-run, and widely-utilized public access station for Baltimore. By that standard, according to Bowers, “the public access provisions in the proposed franchise agreement, as negotiated between Comcast and the Mayor’s Office and subject to City Council’s approval, are wholly unacceptable and could not be more favorable to Comcast.”
Comcast, the world’s largest cable operator, earned $262 million in net profits in the last quarter alone and currently boasts an operating cash flow of $7.5 billion. Under the proposed franchise agreement, Comcast would pass along the capital costs for cable access through an increase in subscribers’ cable bills. The company itself has no obligation to fund public access in exchange for its control over Baltimore’s cable market. Its proposed agreement with the City does not earmark any funds for public access staff nor ongoing operating expenses; reduces the number of cable access channels granted under the previous agreement from 12 to 8; and would not be subject to renegotiation for another 12 years.
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For more information contact:
Amanda Bowers: (410) 371-8218
These Four Council Members’ Financial Ties to Comcast Appear to Show Conflicts of Interest, Advocates Say
BALTIMORE, MD—City Council President Sheila Dixon and Council Members Robert Curran, Keiffer Mitchell, Jr., and Kenneth Harris should stand aside from voting on the City’s proposed franchise agreement with Comcast because of their financialties to the cable giant, according to members of Baltimore Grassroots Media (BGM), a citywide coalition of concerned citizens, public access volunteers, and producers.
Using data from the current election cycle on file at the State Board of Elections, BGM determined that Dixon, Curran, and Mitchell each received substantial campaign contributions from Comcast for their current reelection campaigns. These same three Council members accepted gifts from Comcast in the form of sporting events tickets worth approximately $100 to $200, according to a report by Doug Donovan of The Sun. Additionally, City Council member Kenneth Harris works for Comcast as the company’s director of business services and received a $250 contribution on July 17, 2003 from Comcast Sr. VP Barbara Gehrig.
“Comcast doesn’t give campaign contributions and sports tickets to City Council members out of the goodness of its heart,” said Amanda Bowers, BGM’s spokesperson. “It does so with a clear intent to influence the legislative process for its benefit, at the expense of the public interest.”
The Baltimore Ethics Code requires elected officials to “disqualify himself or herself” in any matter involving “a business entity which is a creditor or obligee of the elected official... with respect to a thing of economic value” [City Charter, Article 8 § 4-2 (a)]. The Code also makes it clear that City officials are to “guard against undue influence” and stand aside from matters where there is even an “appearance” of a conflict of interest [Article 8 § 1-2 (d)].
Below is a list of contributions that Comcast has given to the reelection campaigns of Dixon, Curran, and Mitchell.
To City Council President Sheila Dixon:
$2,000 received from Comcast on 7/31/03
$500 received from Comcast’s Mid-Atlantic President Stephen Burch on 5/7/03
$1,000 received from Comcast VP/General Manager Kenneth Crooks on 6/18/03
$1,000 received from Comcast Sr. Vice-President Barbara Gehrig, also on 6/18/03
————
$4,500 minimum total received from Comcast and its executives (current cycle only)
To City Councilman Robert Curran:
$250 received from Comcast on 8/26/03
$250 received from Comcast VP/GM Crooks on 8/15/03
$250 received from Comcast Sr. VPGehrig on 7/18/03
———
$750 minimum total received from Comcast and its executives (current cycle only)
To City Councilman Keiffer Mitchell, Jr.:
$250 received from Comcast on 8/22/03
$500 received from Comcast VP/GM Crooks on 11/6/03
———
$750 minimum total received from Comcast and its executives (current cycle only)
Council members Helen Holton, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Edward Reisinger, and Bernard “Jack” Young received lesser amounts from executives at Comcast, though not from the company itself, during the current election cycle. However, BGM finds Dixon, Curran, and Mitchell’s pattern of accepting multiple contributions and gifts from Comcast and its executives to be far more serious.
Members of the the Mayor’s Office, which negotiated the franchise agreement with Comcast, and of the Board of Estimates, which grants final approval for the agreement, have also benefited from Comcast’s money. Comptroller Joan Pratt’s campaign received $1,000 from Comcast (8/1/03), and an additional $250 from Comcast Sr. VPBarbara Gehrig (6/18/03). Gehrig has also given to Mayor Martin O’Malley’s reelection campaign a total of $3,000, in addition to the $4,000 he received from Comcast Mid-Atlantic President Burch (5/14/03). Comcast is also a major contributor to Mayor O’Malley’s BELIEVE campaign. Moreover, at least two former members of O’Malley’s adminIstration accepted gifts from the company, according to The Sun.
City Council member Kwame Abayomi said there is “too loose a line” between what is considered ethical and unethical behavior for Council members. Regarding the gifts members of Council and the Mayor’s Office received from Comcast, Abayomi said, “Some of the perks are at the line or cross it.” BGM calls on all all members of City Council and the Board of Estimates, as well as officials in the Mayor’s Office, to publicly reveal any contributions or gifts from the current election cycle that they have received from Comcast but not yet disclosed.
Baltimore Grassroots Media’s members are united in their advocacy of an adequately-funded, democratically-controlled, well-run, and widely-utilized public access station for Baltimore. By that standard, according to Bowers, “the public access provisions in the proposed franchise agreement, as negotiated between Comcast and the Mayor’s Office and subject to City Council’s approval, are wholly unacceptable and could not be more favorable to Comcast.”
Comcast, the world’s largest cable operator, earned $262 million in net profits in the last quarter alone and currently boasts an operating cash flow of $7.5 billion. Under the proposed franchise agreement, Comcast would pass along the capital costs for cable access through an increase in subscribers’ cable bills. The company itself has no obligation to fund public access in exchange for its control over Baltimore’s cable market. Its proposed agreement with the City does not earmark any funds for public access staff nor ongoing operating expenses; reduces the number of cable access channels granted under the previous agreement from 12 to 8; and would not be subject to renegotiation for another 12 years.
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