Aug. 27th, 2005 PLYMOUTH - The federal government's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission voted to close Otis Air National Guard Base Friday. But gov. Mitt Romney will likely file a lawsuit challenging the closure, according to state representative Vinny deMacedo. "I just got off the phone with the governor's assistant chief of staff Peter Flaherty and I feel very confident the governor is going to take every step and legal action he can to save the base," deMacedo, R-Plymouth, said late Friday afternoon.

"I feel confident from the conversation with him that if there's a way the governor can find a legal way around the closing he'll pursue that and, with all the issues coming up with the BRAC commission, we will continue to fight the fight by taking any legal action we can," deMacedo said. The governor's move to likely fight the base closure in court came after a ruling by U.S. district judge John Padova in favor of a lawsuit filed by Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, and senators Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum challenging the closure of the 111th Fighter Wing at Willow Grove Air Base near Philadelphia. Based on various news sources, Rendell and the senators argued defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld should have gotten consent from the governor before moving to deactivate the 111th Fighter Wing because governors are the commanders of National Guard Units. The judge said the Pentagon's decision to close the unit is "null and void." Matthew Lepore, of the Justice Department, argued the government's case. Lepore said the base-closing law had been set up to prevent governors or other politicians from blocking the base closures. "That upsets the entire purpose of BRAC," Lepore told the judge, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. Padova's decision could have a broad reaching impact on bases being considered for closure in other states. Illinois and Tennessee currently have lawsuits filed to prevent National Guard base closures. The news of the commission's decision to close Otis was greeted with outrage and shock by Plymouth's legislative delegation. "The decision to close Otis Air National Guard Base is short-sighted and is a conscious decision to weaken our homeland security defenses," state senator Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, said. "In addition, the vote to close Otis will have a ripple effect that is very likely to force the Coast Guard and other tenants of the Massachusetts Military Reservation to move their operation." State representative Thomas O'Brien, D-Kingston, echoed Murray. "BRAC made the wrong decision," O'Brien, D-Kingston, said. "Clearly from the legislative delegation's point of view, Otis is an integral part of the safety network we have in place to protect us up and down the coast. "It's particularly sensitive to us around Plymouth because it's the first line of defense for the Pilgrim plant." O'Brien stressed Rep. William Delahunt was also investigating all possible legal avenues to fight the base closure. "Under the federal government's current process the chances of Otis being reopened are remote," O'Brien said. "Given the lawsuit in Pennsylvania., congressman Delahunt wrote a letter to the attorney general (Thomas Reilly) about the option of joining the lawsuit so we should certainly exhaust every plausible option." The commission has until Sept. 8 to forward its recommendations to president George Bush. Within two weeks, he can accept them, reject them or send them back to the commission for revision. The recommendations then go to Congress. Legislators will have 45 days to accept or reject the recommendations. If they do not take action within the 45 days, the recommendations automatically take effect. Rumsfeld proposed closing 62 major bases and 775 smaller installations as part of a re-organization of the military intended to save $48.8 billion. The proposal went to the commission three months ago. Other New England bases fared well this week. The commission rejected proposals to close the naval shipyard in Portsmouth, N.H. and the submarine base in Groton, Conn. Otis is part of the 22,000-acre Mass. Military Reservation on Cape Cod. It employs 500 people including civilians.

By Daniel Axelrod
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