As activists accuse Kraft campaign of breaking election law, Kraft campaign alleges violations by Wu
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The allegations related to the Kraft campaign center on Jonathan Karush, a political operative with a leadership role in organizations that are working for both the Kraft campaign and the super PAC. Super PACs are independent spending groups that can raise and spend unlimited money, but may not coordinate directly or indirectly with the campaigns or candidates themselves. In the wake of
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Karush is the president of
Additionally, Karush is a principal owner of CP Campaigns LLC, which performs digital ad buying work for the Kraft-aligned super PAC. The PAC has reported paying CP Campaigns $425,000 so far. The company has existed only since March of this year, state business records show.
Karush said in an email to the Globe that he 'has no personal involvement with the operations of the super PAC.'
'There is a firewall put in place to any engagement to ensure compliance with Massachusetts election law,' he said in the email.
He did not respond to Globe questions about who at CP Campaigns is performing work on behalf of the super PAC, nor a request for a copy of any written 'firewall' policy.
O'Connor, a spokesperson for the Kraft campaign, said in a statement
that Karush is a 'subcontractor' 'not an employee,' at Keyser Public Strategies, and said his work on the Kraft campaign is 'limited to website and digital/graphic work — non-strategic activities which will be reflected in public filings.'
State
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Geoff Foster, executive director of the good government group Common Cause Massachusetts, said the close ties between the organizations working for the Kraft campaign and the Kraft-aligned PAC raise 'important questions about what firewalls are actually in place.'
State officials should quickly, thoroughly investigate any credible claims of wrongdoing, Foster said.
Asked about the Kraft campaign allegations that public employees are improperly working on the Wu campaign, Foster noted that there are important conflict of interest laws in place regulating what public employees may do on political campaigns.
'There's a need for OCPF to be the referee in the ring right now,' Foster added.
The Kraft campaign on Wednesday asked OCPF to launch an investigation into Wu for a litany of alleged violations, including what it said was 'impermissible coordination' between Wu's campaign and a super PAC in 2021, when she first ran for mayor. The Kraft campaign also alleged that Wu is improperly relying on City Hall staff to perform the work of her political campaign.
In Massachusetts, public employees are permitted to make political contributions and work on campaigns, but
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The Kraft campaign claimed that members of the mayor's staff engaged in political activity during office hours and using public resources.
Julia Leja, a spokesperson for Wu's campaign said the campaign is following the law and called the letter 'a transparent attempt to distract from illegal campaign spending by Josh Kraft and his Trump megadonors.'
'Boston voters will not be fooled,' she added.
Emma Platoff can be reached at
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