Facing subpoena threat, Boston 2024 to release original bidding documents
Boston 2024 says it will release its original Olympic bidding plan, two chapters of which have not been seen in full by the public, early next week.
Mayor Marty Walsh called on Boston 2024 to release the full bid Wednesday. The two chapters became subject to controversy this week, after City Councilor Tito Jackson moved to subpoena them.
The chapters have to do with Boston 2024’s proposed budget as of last year, and the political and public support it said it maintained at the time.
At a hearing Wednesday, a majority of city councilors indicated they would vote in favor of a subpoena, but the order was pushed into committee and the vote delayed by Council President Bill Linehan.
The bid was submitted last December to the United States Olympic Committee, which later chose Boston as its bidding city.
Boston 2024 issued a redacted version of the documents in January, saying some information was withheld because it included “proprietary information.’’ Four of the six full chapters were later dug up through public records requests.
Boston 2024 has since issued a new version of its plans, called “Bid 2.0,’’ which it says is more representative of its positions and plans at this point.
Jackson, along with opponents of Boston’s Olympic bid, has said it is still important to see the original documents because they serve as a basis of comparison for the new bid. He also said they serve to provide a clear look of how Boston 2024 presented itself to the USOC.
“The question of releasing the original bid documents has become an unnecessary distraction in what should be a constructive civil discourse about the future of the city of Boston,’’ Walsh said in a statement. “It’s important that we continue our focus on building a concrete and sound plan that is shaped by community input and brings long-term benefits to the City of Boston and its residents. As a result, I asked Boston 2024 to provide the original bid, in its entirety, for public review.’’
In a statement, Boston 2024 Chairman Steve Pagliuca did not say what day the documents would be released next week, nor did he explain the delay.
“Mayor Walsh and I spoke, and I agreed with him, that we should release the full version of the preliminary bid package (Bid 1.0) to the public in order to continue to maintain this high standard of transparency,’’ Pagliuca said.
The scenario is similar to one earlier this year, when Boston 2024 at first declined to say what it was paying former Gov. Deval Patrick as a contractor. As the question became a major talking point around the bid, inciting public outcry, Walsh publicly called on Boston 2024 to provide Patrick’s pay and its entire organizational payroll. Boston 2024 followed up and shared the information shortly thereafter. (Patrick, whose daily fee was $7,500, is no longer being paid.)
Walsh’s statement comes from out of town. The mayor has been at the Vatican this week.
Boston’s Olympic bid: The major players
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