New London Apparatchik's End Zone Dance: Scott Bullock Throws Flag

Yesterday, New London Development Corporation COO David M. Goebel treated us to his own version of Rupert Pupkin's taunt "So long, suckers! Better luck next time!" Scott Bullock, the Institute for Justice attorney who represented the plaintiffs in Kelo vs. City of New London, responds:

Your headline "New London Apparatchik to Plaintiffs: Take It On the Arches and Get On With Your Lives Already!" concerning the email you received from David Goebel, says it all. Despite widespread outrage about the Supreme Court's decision and overwhelming support of the New London homeowners, Goebel, head of the New London Development Corporation and one of the leading architects of the ongoing debacle in New London, apparently still refuses to let the homeowners be. I suppose Mr. Goebel thinks that 87-year-old Mrs. Dery should also "get on with life" after he evicts her from the only home she has ever known. We will not deterred. We will do everything in our power to keep Mrs. Dery and her neighbors in their homes.

And, as usual, Mr. Goebel can't get his facts straight. What we have stated in numerous articles is that state supreme courts have ruled in nine states that eminent domain for private economic development is not permissible under the public use provision of their own state constitution. Now, do state and local officials, including attorneys general, not abide by their own state supreme court rulings? Absolutely! Local governments in Florida are an excellent example of that. But the court rulings in those states are there for anyone to see. Anyone wanting to check out the decisions and citations can look at the petition for certiorari we filed in the Supreme Court. Interestingly, rather than spending time actually doing development on land it already owns, it appears from Goebel's letter that the NLDC is instead spending its time contacting attorney general offices to try to defend an indefensible Supreme Court decision. I bet Connecticut taxpayers, who pay most of the NLDC's salaries, would be thrilled to know that.

For all readers who want to know about stopping eminent domain abuse in New London and elsewhere, please click here.