Mitt Romney Vetoed Flood Prep Funding In 2004, Blamed For Subsequent Flooding
WASHINGTON -- In the spring of 2004, Peabody, Mass., got drenched with rain, which flooded the downtown area. After the storm, then-Gov. Mitt Romney asked President George W. Bush to declare Essex, Middlesex and Suffolk Counties federal disaster areas, according to the Boston Globe.
That fall, the state legislature proposed spending $5.7 million on a flood prevention project to protect against future floods. Those funds would be matched by $22 million in federal money.
Romney vetoed it. This week, Romney has come under fire for suggesting that the federal government get out of the business of disaster relief. But his record in Massachusetts doesn't lend much support to the suggestion that states can handle it alone.
During the time of the Peabody fight, John Barrett, then the Democratic mayor of North Adams, was the vice president of the Massachusetts Mayors Association. He said the issue of flooding in Peabody was critical and that local officials had reached out to the legislature for help. "Every time it rained, it wiped out their downtown," Barrett told HuffPost.
In May 2006, Peabody flooded again, and local officials quickly blamed Romney, and slammed him for doing a tour of the disaster area. As the Associated Press reported:
Critics also faulted Romney's 2004 veto of a $5.7 million flood control project in Peabody, hit hard by the rains, and his request for just half a million dollars for the state's dam safety office. Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Therese Murray, D-Plymouth said, "Peabody today is under water" because of Romney's action
