In case you missed it, on August 6th, a jury convicted Ken Brissette, the Boston’s head of tourism, of extortion and conspiracy, and Tim Sullivan, Boston’s head of intergovernmental affairs on a conspiracy charge. Three years ago, a federal judge had dismissed this case when prosecutors were unable to meet the definition of extortion as pertaining to personal property. However, Andrew Lelling, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts appealed the case and was able to get the case referred back to the lower court. Lelling was appointed to his position by President Trump in December 2017.
To provide some context about the case itself, prosecutors alleged that Sullivan and Brissette pressured the Boston Calling music festival to staff the event with union stagehands, insinuating that the festival could lose city permits if the organizers did not comply. Sullivan and Brissette’s lawyers argued that the two men were seeking to find a compromise and avoid a planned labor protest at City Hall Plaza. Sullivan and Brissette did not have specific power to issue or deny the permits in question.
We believe the decision sets a chilling precedent, not just for labor issues, but for public advocacy across the board. The day after the Boston Calling decision and in response to the verdict, the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts alleged a similar conspiracy surrounding the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Action League’s Executive Director claimed that the city of Boston pressured the parade organizers to include LBGTQ organizations -- making another claim of extortion.
What follows is a quote from the Boston Globe article that covered the case:
“By intentionally blurring the lines between legitimate conduct and Hobbs Act extortion in this case, the government has left all interactions between public officials and their constituents open to second guess by the federal government on pain of criminal sanction,” the lawyers argued.
Dozens of organizations and elected officials have come forward decrying the decision. Earlier this month, standing in solidarity with our allies, the Sierra Club made the decision to add our name to a full page Boston Globe ad. The ad reads as follows:
| We, the undersigned, will not stay silent in the wake of the recent verdict in the Boston democracy. It is through advocacy, organizing and good government that democracy is built. |
| ACTION for Regional Equity • Asian American Resource Workshop • All Dorchester Sports and Leadership • Alliance for a Heathy Tomorrow • Alternatives for Community & Environment • Artists for Humanity • Berkshire Environmental Action Team • BEST Hospitality Training • Better Future Project/350 • Black Ministerial Alliance • Boston Education Justice Alliance • Boston Jobs Coalition • Boston Impact • Boston Workman’s Circle/Center for Jewish Culture and Social Justice • Boston Student Advisory Council/Youth on Board • Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester • Brazilian Women’s Group • Brazilian Workers Center • Câmara do Comércio Brasileiro CDLE USA • Center for Cooperative Development • Chelsea Collaborative • Chinese Progressive Association • City Life/Vida Urbana • Clean Water Action Massachusetts • Climate XChange • Coalition for Social Justice • Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life • Community Labor United • Dominican Development Center • Environmental League of Massachusetts • Gavin Foundation • Good Jobs Somerville • GreenCAPE! • HealthLink • Jobs with Justice • JP Progressives • Justice at Work • MassAlliance • MassCOSH • Mass Peace Action • MassPower Forward • Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance • Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition • Massachusetts Climate Action Network • Massachusetts Community Action Network • Massachusetts Domestic Workers Coalition • Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance • Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus • Massachusetts Senior Action Council • Massachusetts Voter Table • Matahari Women’s Worker Center • Modern Assistance Program • Mothers Out Front • Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts • New England United for Justice • No FrackedGasMass • PHENOM • PILOTActionGroup • PioneerValley Project • Progressive Massachusetts • Right to the City Boston • Sierra Club • Somali Development Center • The Welcome Project Somerville • Toxics Action Center • Unitarian Universalist Mass Action • VietAid • Women Survivors of Homicide Movement |
| The decision sets a terrible precedent and threatens the vibrant and much needed advocacy and organizing in all our cities and throughout the state. We believe the job of the public official is to promote democracy and ensure every voice is heard. |
You might be asking, why is Sierra Club talking about this case? How does this issue impact our mission to explore, enjoy and protect the planet? We are working to build a movement to combat climate change, and that includes building a coalition with the labor movement, whose workforce will be deeply impacted by our transition off of fossil fuels. Labor, energy, and environmental justice issues are intrinsically linked. Building these alliances includes standing for injustices towards our allies. Further, this was a lawsuit targeted the historically pro-labor Walsh administration, in order to set a precedent on advocacy by public officials. As a grassroots organization, we rely upon the advocacy of elected officials to push for strong climate and environmental justice policies. We see this decision as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to hamper public discourse and limit effective advocacy. The decision to take this position was not an easy one. Following extensive conversations with internal leaders and external allies, we ultimately stand by our decision that it was the right thing to do.