The Common Council’s majority leader was one of the many local politicians in attendance at Restore Our Community Coalition's (ROCC) latest press conference. Leah Halton-Pope gave an impassioned speech displaying her frustration with the project being delayed, calling the state’s decision to not appeal a “slap in the face” .
“So, you know, when the state did the assessment, their comments are, we did an assessment, and our assessment was just on under an EIS, it was above and beyond what was required by the state to do, and the federal government had said that this was acceptable. So, if you felt very strongly about that, then I think the state should at least appeal if, in fact, you believe what you're saying. To not do that almost seems like a slap. It means either you were lying the whole time, which I would like to believe is not accurate, or you just gave up, and that's where I feel like it's a slap.”
During the press conference members of ROCC called out Eastside Parkways Coalition for their role in halting the project by bringing forth the lawsuit. Halton-Pope did not go as far as her colleagues, but mentioned she wants the arguments against the state’s project to be in good faith.
“I'm not saying Eastside Parkways [coalition] was paid. I don't believe that at all. I will not attack community people for expressing your voice, expressing your concerns, but I am worried about those who are behind some of it, because who pay for the signs, who paid for the lawsuit? Where did the resources come for that? And it wasn't until it was $1.5 billion dollars, that this became a different kind of an argument, and so it is a little bit of a challenge.”
Halton-Pope says she’s also open to compromise
“If there is a way, we can figure out what the middle ground is, I would be more than happy to, I can tell you that the ESP came to me specifically and just said, We want a resolution, saying you'll support our idea, not a middle ground. And that was not acceptable to me. So, my request was to sit down and try to figure it out.”
It is widely expected that it would take multiple years for the state to complete an environmental impact statement.
