Boston '24 has encountered a "rough reception" with its Olympic bid as it "travels across the city pitching plans that were developed behind closed doors, without consultation from local landlords, advocates, and neighborhood groups, all of which are accustomed to playing a role in approving and shaping construction projects," according to Levenson & Ryan of the BOSTON GLOBE. As organizers "try to regroup and focus on a 19-month battle to win voters’ support, they are aware that they need to avoid the type of political pitfalls that have beset them." But organizers said that more fundamentally, they "must learn from the mistakes" made three weeks ago at a community meeting. Boston '24 Master Planning Committee co-Chair David Manfredi said of that meeting, "We had the conversation backwards -- our fault. We talked about the Olympics, and then we talked about the legacy. We should have talked about the legacy, and then the Olympics. And we shouldn’t have proposed a legacy. We should have asked about the legacy." Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s camp complains that organizers "took too long to realize that, although it is private, it must operate like a public agency." Sources said that Walsh’s relationship with Boston '24 Chair John Fish "has not soured." But a source said that Walsh "feels he must keep an eye on 'the political and the common-sense stuff.'" Sources close to the mayor "liken Boston 2024 to a political campaign that has stumbled." Sources said that the next few weeks "will be critical to determine whether the group can regain its footing." Walsh said that his support for the effort "has not wavered" and he hopes that it "can move forward now that questions about pay at Boston 2024 have been answered and organizers have agreed to a statewide vote" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/30).
NEW BID OPPONENT: In Boston, Richard Weir reports Boston '24 "is planning to win hearts and minds with a ground-level push at track meets, judo tournaments, baseball clinics, even the Boston Marathon." Meanwhile, "rival referendums threaten to divide and conquer by aiming at taxpayers’ worst fears, and a new group is raising the spectre of Occupy-style street protests." The group No Boston 2024 is among the "fragmented array of opponents" against the bid, while No Boston Olympics "has signaled a willingness to work with the pro-Olympic camp." No Boston 2024 leader Robin Jacks railed "against the 'untrustworthiness' of Boston 2024 and fears 'seeing our taxpayer money potentially being sucked into' its bid." She said that her group "plans protests at some point because their concerns are not being heard" (BOSTON HERALD, 3/30).
