Report back on The RFK or No Way Coalition Speak out & Press Conference
By Eric Gold, Unravel Media
December 15, 2005

More than a dozen people participated in the speak out.  They included ANC Commissioners Mary Williams and Marc Borbely, Council Member Adrian Fenty, and other community speakers such as Basav Sen from the Mobilization for Global Justice, Damien Smith from the International Socialist Organization, and Adam Eidinger with the DC Statehood Green Party.

Channel 9 and AP showed. http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1205/286135.html

Standing in front of the Council Chamber along Pennsylvania Avenue, community members demanded the Council vote No using a very loud PA system.  Echoing off the buildings surrounding Freedom Plaza, all passersby and people in their offices got a clear wake-up call about this horrible deal. 

Councilmember Orange and Evans heard an earful when they parked out front and walked into the Council Chambers.  Their heads hung low as they had to deal with the reality... the public by a supermajority does not want a publicly funded baseball stadium for private profit.

Councilmember Fenty stopped by and said a few things on the mic.  He stated he will be speaking with Councilmember Schwartz about some recent developments regarding cost overruns and what it really would mean for the City to walk away from the deal all together.

Councilmember Brown also stopped by but would not get on the mic.  Instead he was asking us if it was worth it if Baseball left DC?  Opponents of the baseball deal said it was if it was at the expense of our schools, healthcare, and other vital services.  He proclaimed being a "soft no" on the lease vote.  More later...

The most powerful piece of this action was actually when the speak out was over.  A group of folks stayed around to lobby Council members in person about this deal. These people included John Capozzi, who incidentally had good rapport with each Councilmember, ANC Commissioners Borbely and Williams, and Chris Otten of the RFK or No Way Coalition.

Councilmember Mendelson sounds like he is a No on the deal but would not go on record as being so.  He would not proclaim his vote last year either... although it certainly would help build public trust if he would take a clear stance on this issue before the day of the vote.  He also was very upset that the Washington Post articles in today's paper (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/14/AR2005121402311.html) mischaracterized his voting record, quotes, and his relationship with the Mayor in regards to his reelection campaign.

Councilmember Schwartz was in a hearing at the time we visited but the lobby group spoke with her staff and it sounds as if she is a NO vote on this deal because of how bad it is.  She has been consistently against such a deal since the beginning but clearly wants baseball here.  It was unclear, however, what she's willing to pay for it?!?

Councilmember Barry's office clearly stated that he is against this bad deal period.  He asked the group to lean on Kwame Brown though.

That brings us back to the enigma of Kwame Brown.  Elected on the campaign platform of schools not stadiums and no public funding for baseball... he spoke with the lobby team in terms of facts or lack thereof. He tried to convince us that he does not have all the facts to make a decision at this point.  We were confused by this position, as the facts haven't changed much since his campaign.

In fact as he admitted, the price of this disaster keeps going up! Kwame pressed us on whether opponents of the deal were willing to pay out "say 40 million dollars" to walk away from Major League Baseball.  As explained to him, walking away would cost the City 19 million dollars per the legislation passed last December.  Compared to the 700+ millions of dollars we would save, this payout seems like a bargain.  He was right, he didn't have all the facts.

Kwame agreed to meet again with us, and all of you, on Monday, so join the lobby efforts again next week.

In the meantime put pressure on the Council and in particular... show Kwame the light.  Also, give Councilmember Patterson a piece of your mind as she looks to be voting yes on a deal thats is now worse then when she voted No on it last year.  Could it be bribes or campaign promises which has changed her mind?  And don't forget to clock Councilmember Gray on this issue to get clarity on his position as well.

By voting No next week on this bad baseball deal, The DC City Council will remove their backs from the wall, push back against the Mayor who's willing to sell the City to the highest bidders, and bring Major League Baseball back to the negotiating table to create a deal that is fair and equitable for all involved, especially our children who have to pray their parents have the money to see a Nats game as they stare out of their school windows which are falling off their hinges.

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CONTACT THE COUNCIL ASAP http://www.dccouncil.us

JOIN THE IN PERSON LOBBY EFFORTS Email: betterdeal4dc@yahoo.com