The Boston Herald
Saturday, November 16, 2002
Finneran wary of subsidy for 2004 Dem convention
by Elisabeth J. Beardsley
House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran shot down the notion of an
unfettered state subsidy of the 2004 Democratic national convention yesterday, warning it would "stress" state finances
that are already on the brink.
Finneran, whose ironclad opposition has sunk past project
proposals, pointed to a state budget deficit approaching $2 billion.
"We're broke," Finneran told the Herald. "Things seem to me
to be getting worse, not better, with regard to the economy and jobs and revenues."
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino is pleading with the state to
help fund a $17.5 million governmental contribution that city officials pledged to close the deal to bring the Democratic
bash to Boston.
Finneran, a conservative Democrat, joined Republican
Gov.-elect Mitt Romney in challenging organizers to prove what benefits could be reaped from a taxpayer investment.
Citing the prospect of convention-related boosts in sales,
meals and hotel excise taxes, Finneran said the possibility of taxpayer subsidies shouldn't be "thrown off the table."
"Clearly you'd make the expenditure as long as you're
convinced - it can't just be based on propaganda, it has to be based on hard facts - as long as you're convinced that there's
a positive return," Finneran said.
Convention boosters have been anxiously awaiting Finneran's
take on the money question, as the conservative House speaker has a long history of quashing private enterprise raids on the
public treasury.
The New England Patriots nearly moved to Connecticut in
1998, after Finneran spiked their bid for taxpayer money for a new stadium.
Finneran, who has testified before Congress in opposition to
public subsidies for stadiums, took a similar tack when the Red Sox came to Beacon Hill looking for tax dollars for a new
ballpark.
But Finneran seemed to strike a softer stance yesterday with
the Democratic convention. "It's a tremendous victory and achievement for Mayor Menino and Sen. (Edward) Kennedy, and
I don't want that lost in the aftermath," Finneran said.
Menino has protested that the state receives nearly all the
taxes on sales, meals and hotels - unlike other convention cities, which share such revenues with their state governments.
With a new convention center going up in South Boston,
Menino said he's looking for a bigger bite of convention-related taxes.
"There might have to be a restructuring of the tax code when
it comes to events like this," Menino said.
But Finneran quickly nixed that idea, noting that the city
has previously failed to make the case for special tax treatment.
"That's a high bar that they have," Finneran said. "In the
past, it's proved to be a difficult political bar to overcome."
Meanwhile, convention center officials are backing away from
Senate leaders' suggestion that the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority could kick in some cash from its
promotional budget.
The new convention center, which is still under construction, has already racked up $100
million in cost overruns. And the agency's $7 million promotional budget is
already dedicated to other projects, MCCA spokesman Andy Antrobus said.
"It's unlikely that we would be able to spend public monies
on something like that, purely as a legal matter," Antrobus said.
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