Winning election a ticket for freebies

Being an elected official often means low pay and lots of headaches, but no one can say the job doesn't have its perks.

State lawmakers and other officeholders often enjoy free meals, drinks and sports tickets paid for by lobbyists eager for face time, and this year is no different.

Among the expenses lobbyists have reported through Jan. 24 are House Speaker David Ralston's $17,280 high-speed rail tour in Europe and a $1,648 trip to the Liberty Bowl for Athens-Clarke Mayor Nancy Denson - the two largest gifts for any single elected official.

The legislature passed an ethics reform package last year in response to the revelation that former House Speaker Glenn Richardson had an affair with a lobbyist seeking permission to build a natural-gas pipeline. Lobbyists are now required to report what they buy for lawmakers every two weeks.

The latest reports, filed Tuesday, show the University System of Georgia paid to send Denson to watch the University of Georgia play in the Jan. 1 bowl game in Memphis, Tenn.

Denson said she's not much of a football fan. The trip was an opportunity to build relationships with UGA administrators and other top officials, she said.

"This is one of the ways you get to know the players and understand each other," she said.

Denson, who is from Memphis, took family members with her, but the university didn't pay their way, she said.

Several lawmakers, including state Reps. Keith Heard, D-Athens, and Doug McKillip, R-Athens, and state Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, also attended, Denson said. But the university system didn't pay their way, according to records filed with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, formerly known as the State Ethics Commission.

Denson was invited to represent Athens in a ceremonial capacity, said Pat Allen, UGA director of community relations.

"There's always an official party for the university, and she was a part that," Allen said.

No tax money is spent on lobbying, Allen said. The Arch Foundation, UGA's private fundraising arm, pays for most lobbying expenses, and the university used revenue from the Liberty Bowl to pay for Denson's trip, he said.

Allen also invited former Ma