By Michael Petrelis

A perk of serving as one of Mayor London Breed’s appointees to the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center’s board of trustees is the availability of complimentary tickets to performances by the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Ballet companies.

One trustee, former jurist and growling, frequently scolding, public purse watchdog, the proud curmudgeon Quentin Kopp, has taken advantage of this perk since joining the board in October 2021, and the California Form 802 monthly disclosures listing the number of free seats he’s received needs sunshining.

Kopp has been granted a total of 149 comps from the fall of 2021 through July of this year, for operatic, balletic and symphonic performances. The following months stand out:

In December 2021 he received 26 comps and for a handful of shows, he brought three companions, and in February 2022, instead of requesting an even number, he asked for five freebies.

During April 2022, Kopp received his personal highest number of tickets for a single event, six at the ballet.

By year, freebies for the last three months of 2021 came to 38, then 81 for all of 2022, and 30 through July 2023, adding up 149.

Does Kopp or any war memorial trustee need the presence and opinion of a companion, or three or more, to properly assess how City funds are being used at the opera house or symphony hall? Unfortunately, the minutes of the trustees’ meeting do not include reports back detailing assessments of what he and his guests experienced, at taxpayer expense.

What was the face value of the 149 comps for Kopp? If he paid for each ticket, it would have cost him a total of $21,000, an amount I believe he could easily afford out of his own pocket.

There are 24 official reasons why trustees are entitled to enjoy the comp privilege, and the most-cited purpose for why they use this privilege is the “[m]onitoring and evaluation of operation, maintenance and services of public facilities available for city resident and visitor use.”

The War Memorial complex is a department within city government completely controlled by Mayor Breed and she alone appoints all 11 trustees. Members are from the elite class of San Francisco society, including longtime members Republican philanthropist Diane Wilsey, Democratic businessman Paul Pelosi, honorary consul for the principality of Monaco Tom Horn and caterer for the most swanky galas around town Stanlee Gatti.

In May, according to a report from Mission Local journalist Joe Rivano Barros, the following headline reminds us who runs this show, pun intended:

“Mayor’s ally shoehorned into War Memorial over qualified rivals. Asked if ex-Office of Economic and Workforce Development head Kate Sofis was shoved down their throats, a War Memorial board member said, ‘Yes.’”

That member, to his credit, was Kopp, who alone among the 11 members voted to oppose Sofis because of her lack of qualifying credentials to serve as managing director of the performing arts complex.

The trustees meet once a month in a stunning board room inside the opera house. Generally there are no members of the public in attendance and meetings are not broadcast on SFGovTV.

For better accountability, I’d like to amend how trustee appointments are made and end the mayor’s unilateral control.

My suggestion is to change the rules so that the Board of Supervisors are given the duty of placing five people on the board, preferably individuals are not part of the elite society swells who always serve on this body. Open up the pool of candidates widely and diversify the trustees.

While I am not against comps for trustees, I want to see who enjoys this privilege expanded to include tickets for ordinary taxpayers and citizens who have resided in San Francisco for at least five years.

A lottery system should be established to distribute a robust number of free tickets, let’s say 49, a figure chosen for the mythic number of the City’s square miles and the name of our local football team, for every performance at the opera house and symphony hall.

This would feed two birds with one seed. It would allow us, the taxpaying public, to evaluate the operations funded with our dollars, and it would fill otherwise empty seats. There’s the added benefit of bringing in a more diverse audience, one comprised of persons of all economic levels, and let’s set aside a portion of comps for Black, Latino and Asian communities.

In conclusion, I want to spur scrutiny of not just Kopp’s free tickets, but all aspects of the War Memorial trustees and our municipal cultural institutions.

Sources:

The writer is the Rainbow Ambassador of the Castro and City Hall accountability activist.