City Councilor Tito Jackson Files for Subpoena to Obtain Boston 2024 Chapters

Update: Monday, 2:13 p.m. — The City Council will vote on Jackson’s subpoena order at Wednesday’s meeting. If successful, the subpoena would order Boston 2024 CEO Rich Davey to appear before the council on August 13 at 1 p.m. and produce the unredacted bid book chapters.

Previously:

Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson filed an order for subpoena Monday to obtain two unreleased chapters of Boston 2024’s bid book, after organizers refused to produce them by Friday’s deadline.

Jackson, who represents Roxbury and parts of the South End, Dorchester, and Fenway, spoke to press on the AstroTurf-lined steps of City Hall minutes after filing the order, offering harsh words for the beleaguered bid.

“The drawings of beautiful buildings and venues has been very impressive. But the important part of the winning bid, Bid 1.0, is the financials,” Jackson said. “No intelligent business person, especially not one as savvy as those involved in this bid would do a business deal without all available financial information,” Jackson said. “So, why, why are you asking the citizens of Boston and the Boston City Council to go forward without complete disclosure?”

Boston first published the first four chapters of Boston 2024’s bid book in May. Two chapters concerning budget information and political support have yet to be released, despite requests from the Boston Business Journal and Jackson. The latter received a letter from Boston 2024 CEO Rich Davey on Friday, informing the city councilor he would not be receiving the chapters as requested.

“Boston 2024 has released its entire 2.0 plan to the public, which was created after months of public meetings and extensive input from community, business and elected leaders, as well as Olympic planning experts and athletes,” Boston 2024 Chief Operating Officer Erin Murphy told Boston in a statement Sunday night, in response to Cambridge City Councilor Nadeem Mazen’s call for a similar subpoena. “Bid 2.0 is the plan we are moving forward with and we look forward to continued public dialogue as we build plans to bring the Games back to the United States.”

“I am disappointed that Boston 2024, a group of individuals who no one has elected, would make financial promises, commitments, and speculations on behalf of the City of Boston, and have the audacity to tell us it is none of our business, look at Bid 2.0 because it is the most current,” Jackson said. “Sorry, Boston 2024. You don’t get to tell our body, our city, or our constituents what to do, when to do it, and how. We are Boston.”

The subpoena orders requires a majority vote from the council, on a date set by Council President Bill Linehan. Jackson said he has not discussed the subpoena order with Mayor Marty Walsh.

“If Boston 2024 is unwilling to disclose information prior to our getting the IOC designation, then it is hard to fathom what will be the case after they receive it,” Jackson said. “Promises were made to the USOC on behalf of the taxpayers of the City of Boston without the full vetting, inclusion, and voice of the people of the City of Boston, and we deserve and demand full knowledge of what those promises are.”