Critics of Boston's bid for the '24 Games said that they have "experienced an outpouring of support for opposing the games" since the USOC selected the city last week, according to Chris Cassidy of the BOSTON HERALD. Opposition group No Boston Olympics co-Chair Chris Dempsey said, "We had over 1,000 sign-ups on our website in the 72 hours since the USOC announcement." He added that the group "hasn’t decided its next move, which could include trying to sponsor a referendum at the polls, directly lobbying International Olympics Committee members or trying to convince Beacon Hill lawmakers to pass legislation." Meanwhile, a Boston 2024 official said that a citizens advisory group supporting the city's bid "also has seen a huge spike in public interest" since the USOC's decision. The group’s Twitter followers "nearly doubled" from 5,585 Thursday to 10,500 yesterday (BOSTON HERALD, 1/13). In Boston, Kevin Cullen notes even as Mayor Marty Walsh "pledged to hold 'the most transparent and inclusive process in Olympic history,' with a series of nine community meetings," he "dismissed the idea of holding a referendum." Cullen: "Which raises this question: Why was it appropriate to hold a referendum on the effects of building a casino, but not on the wisdom of launching a massive infrastructural transformation of the city and metropolitan area? That doesn’t make any sense" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/13). Also in Boston, Alex Reimer writes, "Maybe the real reason Walsh and members of the Boston 2024 Committee don’t want a vote is because they might lose." There is "a debate to be had here -- a free-flowing exchange of ideas." But the backers of Boston’s bid "just want to have a one-way conversation" (BOSTON HERALD, 1/13).
