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Zakim proposes ballot questions about Boston 2024 Olympics bid

Boston City Councilor Josh Zakim proposed non-binding ballot questions regarding Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games at a Boston City Council meeting on Wednesday.

Boston City Councilor Josh Zakim proposed on Wednesday that four Olympic-related questions be put on the 2015 municipal ballot. PHOTO COURTESY OF CITYOFBOSTON.GOV
Boston City Councilor Josh Zakim proposed on Wednesday that four Olympic-related questions be put on the 2015 municipal ballot. PHOTO COURTESY OF CITYOFBOSTON.GOV

The four questions ask whether Boston should host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, whether the City should commit public money, whether the city should make financial guarantees to cover cost overruns and whether the City should take private land for the Games, according to a Wednesday email from Zakim’s office.

Zakim, who represents the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway, Kenmore Square, Mission Hill and West End neighborhoods, said Bostonians deserve the chance to voice their opinion about the 2024 Games in a Monday press release announcing his proposal.

“Bostonians need the chance to have their voices heard collectively and on the record,” Zakim said in the release. “The scope and scale of this project are too large to bypass the democratic values that we as a city hold so dearly.”

Melina Schuler, spokeswoman for Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s office, said the ballot questions are still too premature to predict the results.

“It’s too early in the process to say as it was just filed and the Mayor still needs to review the proposal,” Schuler said in an email. “The mayor looks forward to engaging in a robust community process, including working with all elected officials, as we move forward with Boston’s Olympic bid.”

Chris Dempsey, co-chair of No Boston Olympics, said he supports Zakim’s decision to uphold the democratic process.

“What voters are realizing is that there are real trade-offs and risks associated with these games, and Councilor Zakim’s questions really force people to really think through those and then give them the opportunity to weigh in,” Dempsey said.

Dempsey highlighted financial guarantees as one of his biggest concerns about Boston’s 2024 Olympic bid.

“The IOC [International Olympic Committee] requires host cities to sign a financial guarantee that promises that overruns will be borne by the city rather than by the IOC, so that’s a serious concern,” he said.

No Boston Olympics estimates the cost of the games to be $14.3 billion before any cost overruns, according to its report on Olympic costs posted on its website.

Dan Sibor, Zakim’s chief of staff, said the proposed questions were designed to give Bostonians the opportunity to voice their concerns about Boston’s 2024 Olympic bid.

“The biggest concerns are embedded in the questions that were proposed,” he said. “That is ensuring that the use of public money, financial guarantees for overruns and eminent domain are kept to an absolute minimum or eliminated from the conversation.”

Sibor said people will have the opportunity to make their voice heard, in a non-binding way, to provide insight to Boston 2024, the United States Olympics Committee and the IOC.

“Whether the Olympics do or don’t go forward, there will be another piece of information that will assist decision-making on important issues,” he said.

Zakim hasn’t taken a position on whether or not Boston should host the 2024 Olympics, said Sibor.

“We’re still in the information-gathering phase,” he said. “At this point, it’s premature to make a judgment, either for or against that Olympics given that we don’t have a complete set of facts … There are certain issues, where the scale is so large and all-encompassing that it becomes necessary for voters to have a say. In this situation, the councilor felt that the concept of democracy required something like this [the questions].”

Several residents said they are impressed by Zakim’s proposed ballot questions.

Brandon Walt, 24, of Mission Hill, said Zakim’s questions brought up some issues regarding Boston’s Olympic bid he hadn’t previously thought about.

“I hadn’t really thought about the cons of hosting the Olympics. These questions force us to inform ourselves about the pros and cons of hosting the games before we make a decision,” he said. “I was definitely all for hosting before I heard these questions, but now I need to think about the potential drawbacks and reconsider.”

Madeline Wharton, 24, of Back Bay, said the fun of hosting the Olympics wouldn’t be worth the possible detriments.

“It sounds like the questions really get to what could be some problems with hosting the Olympics,” she said. “The Olympics would be great, but it wouldn’t be worth it if the city had to use a lot of public money to fund the games.”

Linda Li, 25, of Fenway, said Zakim’s questions will allow citizens to voice their opinions.

“Personally, I’m all for it. Hosting the Olympics would be really cool, but I can see that they could negatively affect some people and neighborhoods,” she said. “It sounds like these questions will get voters involved and let us make the decision as a city.”

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One Comment

  1. Councilor Zakim ignored hard of hearing, deaf, ESL English as a Second Language folks by not making available the Plain Text Stenographic Record of Boston City Council. City Contract Article 2.3 provides for these public computer files!