Driscoll fills in for Wu at research bureau, while Mariano jokes about RFK Jr.
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Wu recently said in a social media post that she decided not to attend the lunch, a tradition for the sitting mayor, because of her concern that the business-backed research bureau has been acting as a 'political action committee to lower corporate taxes.' (Wu was referring to their difference in opinion about how commercial real estate should be taxed.)
Instead, Wu ended up around the time of the lunch at Boston Latin School, where she met with actor Ayo Edebiri, a BPS alum and star of the TV show 'The Bear.'
Mayoral challenger Josh Kraft, who attended the research bureau event, highlighted Wu's absence with an email he sent out that morning accusing his opponent of shutting out a nonpartisan organization over a policy disagreement.
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House Speaker Ron Mariano, meanwhile, wasn't about to miss his own annual speaking engagement that morning with another business group, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, even though he was fighting a cold. He joked about that while speaking at the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel, by referring to US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and some of his controversial stances.
'You'll have to forgive me. I've had a cold for a week but I'm on direct orders from Secretary Kennedy of Health and Human Services to attend as many crowded events as possible,' Mariano said to much laughter. 'We're trying to achieve herd immunity.'
This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston's business scene.
Jon Chesto can be reached at
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