Mayor Wu slams rival Josh Kraft over big bucks infusion: ‘Boston is not for sale'
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu didn't waste any time Tuesday making her feelings known over news that rival Josh Kraft was not only dropping big bucks on his campaign, but also was getting a leg-up from a super PAC on top of that.
"Most Bostonians don't have a billionaire father to buy them a condo so they can move in to run for an office they've never voted for, live in a ward they don't know, and spend millions from their family wealth and connections to try to buy the election," the Democratic incumbent said in a statement released through her campaign.
A bit of background:
Kraft, a political newcomer and the son of billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, announced last week that he was putting $2 million of his personal cash toward his campaign for City Hall, according to published reports.
Late last week, Your City, Your Future, a pro-Kraft super PAC, disclosed through a state filing that it was spending $1.42 million on text messages, digital, TV and radio advertisements, along with billboards, supporting the challenger.
That personal donation effectively erased Wu's fundraising lead. Heading into last week, the Democratic incumbent was sitting on more than $2 million in her campaign accounts, compared to Kraft's $151, 161.
"The power of incumbency is a real thing,' Kraft said in a Friday statement to The Boston Herald. 'While Mayor Wu appears to be running her campaign out of City Hall, I have a fully staffed campaign team, including a campaign headquarters in Nubian Square.'
'While my campaign just reached the $1 million mark in donations, a modern campaign that includes a strong and robust field organization requires more resources than I can raise in such a short time frame,' he said, adding, 'I have never felt more optimistic about my campaign and what lies ahead.'
Wu fired back on Tuesday, saying the senior Kraft and his "fellow Trump associates are trying to buy Josh a job by trashing our city with millions of dollars of negative attack ads. And without grassroots support for his campaign of half-measures and grievances, Josh Kraft is now having to self-fund his campaign with millions more from his family wealth too."
'This is an unprecedented early start to outside money raining down on a Boston city election as Kraft runs the most negative mayoral campaign in generations,' Wu continued.
Wu and Kraft, who officially made the 2025 ballot last week, have spent most of the campaign exchanging jabs on social media and in dueling public statements.
That happened most recently during a forum earlier this month that took in issues ranging from the city's prohibitive housing costs to public safety.
Here's who's on the ballot for Boston mayor, City Council — so far
Boston mayoral candidates clash over city budget, housing and transit in first forum
Angela Menino, wife of former Boston Mayor Tom Menino, endorses Michelle Wu for reelection
Read the original article on MassLive.
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