Inauguration Ticket Requests Surpass Supplies
FRANK TICKETS
The New Bedford Standard-Times
Courtney Hime
Boston University Washington News Service
November 19, 2008
WASHINGTON – New Bedford residents hoping to attend President Barack Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20 may already be out of luck.
The offices of Rep. Barney Frank and Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry are reporting that requests for inauguration tickets are surpassing the number of tickets available.
Dorothy Reichard, spokeswoman for Rep. Frank, said the congressman has 198 tickets available for disbursement, but his Newton office has received 400 to 500 ticket requests – some being called in as early as June. Requests for tickets are being compiled at his Newton office and while no plan for disbursing the tickets has been put in place, a first-come, first-served system would be likely, she said.
Ms. Reichard said 198 tickets – 177 standing tickets and 21 seats – are provided for every House member. In total, there are 240,000 tickets available for the inaugural ceremony, with the largest portion of tickets going to the president-elect and vice-president-elect.
The remaining tickets are distributed to members of the new Congress, with each senator receiving a greater number of tickets than each House member, said Carole Florman, spokeswoman for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which organizes all inaugural ceremonies held at the U.S. Capitol.
Brigid O’Rourke, spokeswoman for Sen. Kerry’s office, said senators have received 300 to 400 tickets in the past, but has no guarantee that they can expect the same number this year.
“At this point,” she said “we don’t know exactly how many tickets we will receive.”
Ms. O’Rourke said their request list was numbering in the thousands. Despite the large number of requests, Sen. Kerry’s office is still maintaining a waiting list in case they receive more tickets. Tickets would be distributed on a first-come-first served basis, she said.
A spokesman from Sen. Kennedy’s office said that more than 1,000 requests for tickets have been registered and that no definitive plan for disbursement was in place.
Constituents can call or e-mail their members’ offices to request tickets, free of charge. The offices will receive the tickets in the week before the inauguration, and constituents must pick them up at the Capitol Hill office in person, Florman said.
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