Boston City Councilor Josh Zakim has proposed a set of nonbinding citywide ballot questions for voters to answer about Boston's 2024 Olympics. The questions are as follows:
Zakim proposed the ballot questions as a way to tackle what he described as "deeply complex" issues surrounding the Games.
Rich Davey — a former Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth — now heads the pro-Olympics group Boston 2024. He thought Councilor Zakim's ballot questions were reductive and unhelpful.
"These are yes or no questions, and I think the Olympics is a lot more complicated than a yes or no question," Davey said Thursday on Boston Public Radio. "We've only started, but we have a long public process to engage people."
Davey said the questions about Boston's Olympic bid are nuanced and deserve careful consideration, although he favored community discussion over ballot measures.
"I think Congressman Lynch and Capuano are perfect examples. They are supportive of the Olympics. They have a particular concern about a particular venue in their districts. So, that's the kind of conversations that have to happen. I think that ballot questions don't allow people to do that."
Former gubernatorial candidate Evan Falchuk has advocated for a statewide ballot question concerning the Olympics, one that would be binding and final. Davey said something like that could, potentially, clarify voters' desires.
"The question is, how do you get there? A ballot question can potentially be helpful," Davey said. "I think that we, at 2024, would have to do a much better job of explaining to the public what this is about, what is our plan, and we've only been able to do that over the last three weeks."
Davey reiterated the desire of Olympic boosters to avoid using taxpayer dollars to pay for the Games. He was open to the possibility of putting an agreement in writing.
"I think we could conceivably do that."
Davey reiterated that Boston is an attractive city to the International Olympic Committee because of projects that have already been finished and paid for, such as the cleanup of the Boston Harbor, as well as airport and convention center expansions.
"That's the reason the USOC chose us," Davey said. "Everything we need to pull this off has already been built, or is already under construction."
>> To hear the entire conversation with Rich Davey, click the audio at the top of the page.
