SD Airport board members abusing expense accounts big time

RICHARD RIDER COMMENT: A couple years ago the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE did a fine exposé on the extravagant spending by the appointed members of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Currently the agency has a $121 million budget, which it derives from public money – primarily from airport fees and rents.
As a result, new spending guidelines were put in place. Guidelines, smidelines. Our airport officials don’t need no stinkin’ guidelines. Must be so, since they imperiously ignore said guidelines.
We know that such is still the case, thanks to a follow-up investigation by the intrepid Voice of San Diego. Click here to link to their just-released article.
You might be wise not to read it – if you pay the fees for flying in and out of San Diego’s Lindberg Airport. Don’t want you going postal in the airport.
Perhaps the most egregious incident was when two board members flew to England for a Charger exhibition game (I’ll leave it to you to conjure up the rationale for that trip). No expense was spared – from the $5,500 first class tickets to the $350 Charger reception to the $1,200 for seats (a board member and a guest -- $600 each) at the game. BTW, that’s the price for EACH board member’s football two tickets, reception and airfare.
Ya gotta’ love authority Chairman Bob Watkins’ response to the Voice story – it’s just lowly paid reporter envy. Great stuff – his elitism is insufferable.
Just in case you think the above expenses are a one-time aberration – consider this: San Diego Airport staff fly to Los Angeles for as much as $820 a ticket. And yes, that is Los Angeles, California.
Now, let’s see if these political appointees avoid being fired. Assuming that they are not fired, surely they will be denied reappointment by the politicians who first put them there.
Yeah, when pigs land on the Lindberg runway.