UPDATE (5:38 p.m.): The following statement can be attributed to Laura Oggeri, Chief Communications Officer for the City of Boston.
EARLIER: Earlier in January, Mayor Marty Walsh said that no referendum is needed should Boston be designated as the host city for the 2024 Summer Olympics. In an interview Tuesday, though, the mayor seemed to backtrack on his decisiveness a bit, noting he won’t stand in the way of a vote.
Boston was endorsed by the United States Olympic Committee as the American city to host the Games on Jan. 8. A final decision won’t be handed down by the International Olympic Committee until 2017, but Walsh has expressed interest in the prospect of the Games coming to the Hub since taking office just over a year ago.
But in statements made in December, Walsh said he doesn’t think Boston needs to put the decision to a vote, should Boston be chosen.
“I don’t think necessarily we need a vote on it,” he said in part. “‘I’ve seen polling numbers where the majority of Bostonians are in favor of the Olympics. They’re excited about the possibility of the Olympics. I haven’t really heard from other than a few people from No Olympics that have said they’re opposed to it.”
In an interview published by the Wall Street Journal Tuesday, however, the mayor said that when it comes to a vote, “I wouldn’t stand in the way.”
Bonnie McGilpin, Mayor Walsh’s press secretary, told BostInno that the mayor will move forward with a referendum should the applicable number of signatures be garnered statewide to prompt a ballot initiative and he hear enough opposition during the 9 community hearings scheduled over the next 9 months.
“Mayor Walsh is excited to work with the community to share the vision for an Olympics that is innovative, walkable and hospitable to all,” said McGilpin. “The Mayor is confident that when the City has the opportunity to engage with the community about all of the benefits of Boston being in the running for the 2024 Olympics, the residents of Boston will be excited for the opportunity to host the world class sporting event.”
Boston has arguably seen the most opposition to hosting the Games than any of the other candidate cities – Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
People have been vocally opposed to the Games, even airing out their grievances on social media. Some have thrown their support behind opposition group No Boston Olympics, which hosted an open community meeting on Thursday.
A recent poll conducted by Sage Systems suggests that Boston is generally supportive of hosting the Games. Of the 1,604 respondents to the independent poll, 55.3 percent said they were in favor. Comparatively, 39.6 percent were opposed.
It’s important to know, however, that only 482 of the participants identified as living in Boston – just 30.5 percent. Even more striking is that just 77 people (about 4.8 percent) identified themselves as being between the ages of 18 to 34, which Hayden Bird wrote is not a fair representation of how the city is swaying.
Image via @TeamUSAorg
