Catholic group wants Southie parade probe
In response to the guilty verdict of Mayor Martin Walsh’s aides, the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts is alleging a similar extortion by city hall resulted in the inclusion of LGBTQ organizations in the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a charge disputed by organizers.
“With both the festival and the parade, the same strong arm tactics were used to accomplish the same political object,” Executive Director C. J. Doyle said. “The U. S. Attorney’s office should investigate the corporate culture of unlawful coercion which exists within the upper echelons of the administration of Mayor Marty Walsh.”
Doyle is alleging that the city of Boston coerced the Allied War Veterans Council into accepting OUTVETS, an LGBTQ veterans organization, into the parade, claiming “striking parallels” between the Boston Calling Music Festival case and the South Boston Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. OUTVETS could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
Dave Falvey, commander of the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, which organizes the parade said the group “does not support” the call to open an extortion probe on the council’s behalf against the city of Boston, adding that Doyle’s allegation was “inconsistent,” with their values and vision for the parade.
“South Boston Allied War Veterans Council is proud to be an inclusive parade and to feature LGBT organizations like OUTVETS,” Falvey said. “The leadership of the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council has a strong, collaborative relationship with Mayor Walsh and his team and is looking forward to continuing this relationship in support of the next parade on March 15, 2020.”
Permits to host a public event are granted based on operational feasibility, not based on values or endorsements of beliefs, according to the Mayor’s office, and the city cannot deny a permit based on an organization’s values.
Kenneth Brissette, the city’s director of tourism, and Timothy Sullivan, chief of intergovernmental affairs, were found guilty Tuesday on a count of Hobbs Act conspiracy in U.S. District Court for pressuring Crash Line Productions — the organizers of the Boston Calling Music Festival — to hire union stagehands.