Photo by NCinDC

One of the perks of being mayor or a member of the D.C. Council is free tickets to suites at both the Verizon Center and Nationals Park. One of the problems that every mayor and member of the D.C. Council seems to have without fail? Free tickets to suites at both the Verizon Center and Nationals Park.

WTOP reports today that Mayor Vince Gray has given his tickets to a suite at the Verizon Center to his son and daughter, continuing what is becoming a longstanding D.C. tradition of sharing the perks of public office with close friends and family:

According to records provided by the mayor’s office, Carlos Gray has used the District’s Sky Suite to catch premier events including concerts by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Britney Spears and Nicki Manaj. He’s also been provided tickets to Washington Wizards games and the circus.

The mayor’s office has provided Gray’s daughter, Jonice Gray Tucker, with at least 40 tickets as well as parking passes to events, including Disney On Ice, Cirque Du Soleil and concerts by Taylor Swift and Sade.

Gray defended the use of the tickets by saying that his daughter is the city’s First Lady—Gray’s wife is deceased—and his son is an ambassador for D.C. Additionally, D.C. officials say, many tickets to events go to regular constituents.

The controversy over the tickets is an annual occurrence that has bedeviled just about anyone who has come in contact with them. In 2007, it was Mayor Adrian Fenty that was caught giving the same tickets away to friends, family, staff, and campaign contributors. (A Hannah Montana show was apparently a big draw.) Over the last few years, members of the D.C. Council have similarly fought over tickets to hot shows; Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) really wanted to go see Lady Gaga, it seems. More recently, Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) was found to have spent more money from his Constituent Services Fund on tickets to sporting events than he did helping charities.

Last September the D.C. GOP proposed an idea that would prevent any future fights over the tickets—just auction them off on eBay. (Technically, though, D.C. doesn’t “own” the tickets, so an auction wouldn’t work.)