STPH PrESIDENT APPEALS TO State ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS FOR HELP AS AUCTION APPROACHES

Knowing the The Pink House was weeks from being listed for auction, Support the Pink house President, Rochelle Joseph, began meeting with municipal and state elected officials starting with Mayor Reardon on May 25. We reached out to Michael Colburn, Salisbury Select Board Chair , Alicia Grecco, Newbury Select Board Chair, Geof Walker, Newbury Selectman, Newburyport City Council President Ed Cameron, Amesbury Mayor Gove, State Rep Kristin Kassner, State Senator Bruce Tarr and Governor Healy's Senior Advisor, as well as the Lt. Governor. 

FWS and Moulton's office has been saying things were dying down. We realized that perhaps the municipal and state elected officials didn't know just HOW MUCH work and response was still going on daily, because we knew it absolutely had not. Many people continue to contact us daily, join our mailing list and social media, make suggestions and ask questions. And increasingly, prominent leaders in the area, business owners, attorneys, even lobbyists who have relationships with Moulton, Markey and Warren took it upon themselves to intervene to ask why they are not stepping in to change things. 

OUR MESSAGE: This has not died down. The effect of the removal of The Pink House on this region was not to be underestimated.  And the auction is imminent. 

OUR ASK: STEP in on behalf of your constituents if the federal delegation, who has been flooded with calls and emails from constituents, is not responding as they are duty bound to do (and instead seem to be protecting FWS's objectives). Meet as a group with Seth Moulton in person - not his people, without FWS or STPH there - and talk about what can be done before it's too late. 

The idea elected officials meeting with out pressure, a need to censor or interference from invested parties, might be able to get closer to an honest discussion.   

We asked them to fight for this cause the way they had fought for Whittier, for Salisbury Sand, and other recent issues. And asked that they fight for their constituents and their businesses, artists, tourism and historic values. If they all went together and meet with Seth Moulton himself, who could fault them for doing what they are voted in to do? By all of them going together, no one would be sticking their neck out. 

Lastly, we suggested that they meet without FWS or Support The Pink House to increase the chance they could talk frankly about a solution. 

The one hitch: FWS would only give a 3 week window for when the auction would start - even elected officials -- and that window kept changing. 

Everything seemed to be set, but when Chair Greco reached out to Kelly Bovio at Moulton's office to find out about dates, the meeting was immediately dismantled, steering to meeting with Matt Hillman about land swap. And this is how it happens. Weeks of work go into a perfectly rational plan, and as soon as it gets to Moulton's office, things get blocked.  Greco didn't know that STPH's attorney had reached out way over everyone's heads to the DOI attorney, and had submitted these new lands STPH found, trying to talk with the decision makers about them. Those meetings were deflected for 3 months, and interestingly, the same day Bovio was called, the DOI refused to do the meeting we were so close to getting.  When that was corrected, She was told that Seth would not meet without Matt Hillman there. 

This was not the purpose of the meeting. When Moulton's office would not shift, naturally the ask was to have STPH also present, if FWS would be. The answer was no. 
At this point, several attendees saw it for the sham it was becoming and kind of fell off. 
We suggested they not waste their time, welcome to how things have gone behind the scenes that the public just doesn't realize. 

And this is how it goes. It's been a terrible look at how politics works up close, even at our local level.

Considering how many of Congressman Moulton's voters and major donors live in the towns that most benefit from business and tourism generated by The Pink House, they are not happy with this inexplicable standoff. ​