Ticket sales for President Obama’s big fundraiser Monday at the SFJazz Center are so sluggish, organizers are cutting the price of some tickets in half.
The cheap seats for the Democratic National Committee luncheon — the ones that were going for $1,000 — have been reduced to $500, according to an e-mail to potential donors sent out Monday by Ella Arnold of Buell Private Political Management in San Francisco.
Arnold added, “We are thrilled to announce that if you have already purchased a $1,000 ticket … your seat will now be upgraded to VIP, which includes rope line access!”
We’re told organizers are even making deals on some the $15,000 tickets to the reception with the president, with prices dropping to as low as $10,000.
Michael Czin, press secretary for the Democratic National Committee, said nobody should read too much into the price cuts, explaining that “due to demand we added additional space and expect the event to sell out.”
If there is waning interest in attending, however, it’s hardly surprising. This will be the president’s ninth fundraising trip to the Bay Area in the past 2 1/2 years — and that, nearly a year into his second term, Obama is approaching lame-duck status.
In addition to the Jazz Center event, some 20 VIPs are expected to pay top dollar — $32,400 a head — to join Obama in a tech roundtable at the San Francisco home of Salesforce founder Marc Benioff.
One thing’s for sure — Obama is sticking to form and avoiding any free, public appearances in San Francisco. Seems the administration has calculated that whether it’s here, Los Angeles or New York, it’s not worth the aggravation of a YouTube moment pitting the president against a lefty heckler.
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