Is he or isn't he? Will the real Ego Ezedi please stand up.

This morning I woke up to find a link in my inbox to an article in Boston University's Daily Free Press titled

Former BU biolab proponent runs for city council, campaigns against biolab

Long-time readers of this blog know that I'm anti-biolab, so of course I was curious to see who the person is. I was a little surprised to read that it's Ego Ezedi. As the article mentions, Ego was featured in a student-produced video strongly supporting the biolab. Actually, strongly is an understatement. My initial reaction to watching the video years ago was that Mr. Ezedi had the interests of Boston University, not the community, in mind. As an employee of B.U. that comes as no surprise. What I found off-putting was the arrogance and vehemence of his statements.

Flash forward to the present day and now there's an article stating that he's opposed to the biolab...or at least its Level 4 designation. Other than saying that now he understands that 100% safety cannot be guaranteed, he says that his change of mind is based on "personal convictions."

What the hell?!

Mr. Ezedi, you can do better than that. Given how strongly you spoke out in favor of the biolab 4 years ago, why can't you be just as vocal and emphatic? When I met you at a meet-and-greet earlier this summer and asked about your ideas concerning transit and environmental justice issues, I did so without remembering that you were in this video. You didn't have a response to those questions, which is unfortunate given your previous stance and apparent change of mind concerning the biolab.

It's changes of position (and tepid acknowledgment of those changes) like this that make me skeptical of politics and politicians in general. OK, so now you're opposed to the biolab...kind of. What's next? What do you propose as a solution for the community which you would like to elect you to office? If elected, how do we know that you won't change position again?

At the very least, watching this video made me realize that change is happening in the Dudley area. One of the Superfund sites (the Modern Electroplating Factory) is in the process of being cleaned and redeveloped. I don't know where the other one is/was, but I'm hoping that remediation plans are in the works for that one, too.

Comments

[A Spectator]

Have you ever met Ego and talked to him? He is nothing but suits and strong words fed to whatever audience is there. His successor at the YMCA of Roxbury has done more in a few months than he did in years from looking at the website alone. His aim is political, not community development. As for his ability to understand and work the grass-works, it diminishes quickly over time in favor of his campaigns.

[3D]

Yes, I meet Ego at a neighborhood meet-and-greet about a month before this post. I appreciated his energy, but wasn't impressed by the depth and breadth of his knowledge and topics. Considering the kinds of questions being asked, my impression was that others felt the same way. By the end of the night, my final impression of him was that he was still very green (as in inexperienced).