Photo by BrianMKA.

That’s right: apparently having exhausted all other important aspects of debate, Tim Craig reports that some D.C. Councilmembers are back to whining that they haven’t been getting their tickets to games and events at the Verizon Center, despite reports claiming that there would be “no Ticketgate” this year. After all, if there’s anything that this city should be taking care of immediately, it’s filling Jim Graham’s need for admittance to tomorrow night’s Lady Gaga concert.

Since [Kwame] Brown became chairman, Graham and other members have said they have not been getting their share of free tickets to one of the two city boxes at the Verizon Center. The D.C. mayor and council have access to about 36 tickets in two boxes supplied to the city compliments of the late Wizards owner’s family, which until last year owned a majority stake in the Verizon Center.

If this all sounds painfully familiar, it should. The Council whining that they weren’t getting their tickets was a frequent occurrence during the Fenty administration — notably when Fenty and then-Council Chair Vince Gray got into a big tiff over luxury box tickets at Nationals Park. Brown, who once suggested auctioning off the tickets to help close a budget deficit, is now in charge of handing out the tickets, including to the luxury box the city received from the late Abe Pollin in exchange for $50 million to help build the arena.