Black GQ Politics: Inauguration Tickets

Via WashPo


It's the Hottest Ticket In Town Huge Demand for Inaugural Events

By Timothy Wilson
Washington Post
Staff Writer
Thursday, November 13, 2008; DZ03

In anticipation of a victory by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) last week, D.C. residents began calling the office of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) the day before the presidential election with requests for tickets to inaugural events.

Staff members took the names and addresses of eager callers but cautioned that they should try again after the outcome of the election had been determined.

The day after Obama's victory, a flood of phones calls and e-mails began. By Friday evening, Norton's office had received more than 2,000 phone calls and 1,000 e-mails from people requesting tickets that would give them a close-up view of the historic inauguration.

"They overpowered the phones and all the technology I could muster," Norton said.

This is the fifth presidential inauguration since she assumed office in 1991. "I've never had this kind of trouble," she said.Tickets for the swearing-in ceremony are free but are limited in quantity. In 2005, members of the House of Representatives each received about 200 tickets for President Bush's swearing-in ceremony.

"The book we used for other inaugurations won't work," Norton said. "We should throw away the book."

Carole Florman, communications director for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, said the number of tickets given to each congressman will be determined by the end of the month. Tickets will not be distributed to congressional offices until the week before the inauguration and will have to be picked up in person.

In the meantime, Norton's office has stopped taking requests and must decide how to distribute their allotment once the number of tickets has been determined.

"Until we get the number of tickets, we have no way of figuring that out," she said.

Thousands of volunteers across the nation participated in the grass roots-campaign that led to Obama's victory. The bulk of the tickets allotted for the swearing-in ceremony might go to them, Norton said. The White House also gets a sizable share: In 2005, it received 60,000 tickets to distribute.

Norton said she is concerned that D.C. residents might not be able to take part in inaugural festivities because of an influx of tourists and heightened security. She recommended the use of alternative locations for viewing the swearing-in, such as Verizon Center or the Washington Convention Center to offset the large crowds that will gather at the Capitol and on the Mall.

"I predict people won't be able to get on the Mall even if they have tickets. It's an outdoor gathering the likes of which this city hasn't seen," said Norton, a D.C. native, recalling several dozen protests that drew thousands of participants. "This isn't a protest; this is a celebration. This is in a class by itself."