Mayor Marty Walsh joined the Boston 2024 Olympics discussion Thursday night as part of the first community meeting on the prospect of hosting the Games. The mayor heard from both sides of the argument and on Friday he’ll be meeting with No Boston Olympics, the organization representing Olympics naysayers.
No Boston Olympics spokesperson Aaron Leibowitz told BostInno that the group’s three co-chairs – Chris Dempsey, Kelley Gossett and Liam Kerr – will probably sit down with the mayor (and assumably his staff) though he was unable to go into details as to what they may discuss.
“We look forward to meeting with Mayor Walsh and discussing our concerns about Boston2024’s bid, but also our shared goals for the city and region,” Chris Dempsey told BostInno. “We hope this is the start of a productive, ongoing conversation. Mayor Walsh’s governing motto is ‘Listen, Learn, and Lead’ and we appreciate that he wants to hear our perspective.”
Both Dempsey and Leibowitz confirmed that Thursday night’s meeting was a step in the right direction as far as vetting out details on how the city and the privately funded Boston 2024 will proceed in its attempt to bring the Games to the Hub.
“I think it was really encouraging to see so many people raising their concerns and asking tough questions,” said Leibowitz. People feel they’ve been left out of this process so far, and last night’s meeting was a reminder of just how important it is for public voices to be heard.”
Added Dempsey, “Citizens from neighborhoods across Boston aired concerns about the bid’s lack of transparency, and the enormous financial risks associated with hosting the Games. Anyone in the room last night saw a city that is truly divided on this issue – not ‘overwhelmingly supportive,’ as the boosters have claimed.”
According to the New York Times, attendees at Thursday’s meeting brought up concerns such as possible cost overruns at the expense of taxpayers (the Big Dig is not lost on locals by any means), the potential for the City of Boston to seize private lands per eminent domain for venue sites and the fact the MBTA can barely handle the seasonal weather.
Further, Mayor Walsh stated in response to a question about a non-binding referendum posed by City Councilor Josh Zakim to put four Olympics questions on the 2015 municipal ballot in November that “it’s a different conversation” than a possible binding statewide ballot. For the latter, he’s made it clear that while he’s against any referendum, he won’t stand in the voters’ way.
“The issues of whether taxpayer money will be spent, how land will be acquired for venues, and more generally what Boston’s priorities are as a city, are all valid and need to be addressed,” added Leibowitz. “We hope people continue to attend these meetings going forward and continue to press Boston2024 for answers.”
The Boston Herald reported on Wednesday that Mayor Walsh signed a nondisclosure agreement with the U.S. Olympic Committee which only allows him to share information with bid organizers and officials, the pipeline of which is no open that former Joe Rull, the recently resigned chief operations officer of the City of Boston, has joined the ranks of Boston 2024.
Rull told the Boston Globe that he’ll act as Mayor Walsh’s “eyes and ears inside the operation.”
BostInno reached out to City Hall to get a sense on what talking points might be brought up at this afternoon’s meeting. Chief Communications Officer Laura Oggeri told us that they’d respond as soon as Mayor Walsh returns from a morning engagement with a better sense of how it may fare.
