He criticized her work leading the city. She countered that he hasn’t spent much time living in it.
And with that, the race for Boston mayor kicked off Tuesday, not with a whimper, but with a snark-laced bang, as longtime nonprofit leader Josh Kraft officially launched his bid by lobbing attacks at incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu that she was quick to return.
“We have a mayor that just does not listen,’’ Kraft, the third son of billionaire Patriots owner Robert Kraft, said at his announcement Tuesday morning in Dorchester. “Mayor Wu acts as if she alone has the answers.’’ He said the city faces “serious challenges’’ — “challenges Mayor Wu has not risen to.’’
Wu, for her part, remarked at an unrelated event Tuesday afternoon, “I’m a little surprised that someone who’s never even voted for mayor or city councilor before in Boston feels like he’s ready to lead the city.’’
“I welcome Josh Kraft to the city,’’ Wu said in a statement blasted out to reporters later in the day.
Kraft moved from Chestnut Hill to the North End only recently, registering to vote in Boston in fall 2023, though he had already spent three decades working at the Boys & Girls Club of Boston, including 12 years as its head.
Those opening salvoes lay the groundwork for what’s likely to be a feisty — and personal — race. Kraft can expect to face continued scrutiny about his privileged upbringing outside Boston, a political liability he sought to neutralize in his speech Tuesday by acknowledging he was “born at home plate.’’ Wu, meanwhile, will have to contend with residents critical of some of the choices she has made as mayor, discontent that Kraft wasted no time trying to capitalize on.
Kraft acknowledged his background sets him apart from many people in the majority-minority city he seeks to lead, but emphasized his service to Boston has instructed him on its challenges. He acknowledged it would be an “uphill fight’’ to defeat the incumbent mayor, an unheard-of feat in modern Boston political history.
“I’m asking the people of Boston to set aside any ideas they might have about me based on my last name,’’ the 57-year-old political neophyte said Tuesday. “There’s more for me to give this city, and that’s why today … I’m excited to declare my candidacy to be the next mayor.’’
Kraft now lives by the waterfront in the North End with his partner, and has two grown daughters who work in nonprofits outside Boston. He currently heads his family philanthropy efforts and chairs the board of the Urban League of Massachusetts. If elected, he would be the first Jewish mayor of Boston.
Kraft on Tuesday gave the first outlines of his platform, which includes policy issues from across the ideological spectrum. His biggest applause of the morning was for promising to immediately pause construction of bike lanes. He also criticized Wu’s management of city finances, citing the 8 percent increase in the city’s budget for the current fiscal year at a time when some financial watchdogs and business groups had called for cuts.
“The mayor said there isn’t a single program to be reformed or a single penny to be cut,’’ Kraft said. “This is not only irresponsible, it’s just not believable.’’
Wu has defended her administration’s budget, arguing that cutting spending in the middle of the fiscal year would be “unprecedented.’’ She is expecting smaller increases in next year’s budget, which won’t have as many costly one-time increases, such as updated union contracts.
Kraft also embraced positions traditionally seen as more progressive, saying, “It is time to have elected members on the School Committee.’’ That puts him at odds with Wu, who campaigned for mayor in 2021 supporting a hybrid, partially elected committee but cooled to the idea after taking office. In 2023, Wu vetoed a measure that would have transitioned Boston to an elected committee. Kraft also told the Globe he would hire a second superintendent for Boston Public Schools focused solely on operations, to make sure the district’s perennially late buses run on time.
Kraft also said he would propose his own version of rent control, and then dinged Wu for failing to deliver on her version, which has stalled on Beacon Hill.
“Renters deserve to be protected from massive year-over-year increases, and this plan will do that,’’ Kraft said, outlining a policy he said would provide building owners lower real estate taxes in exchange for capping increases in rents over a 10-year period. He said his version would not require state approval because it would be a voluntary measure for landlords.
Many of Wu’s priorities, including rent control, lack support on Beacon Hill, which is required for big and small policy changes under Massachusetts law. Speaking to reporters after his announcement, Kraft said he would be more successful than Wu in negotiating with state leaders.
“One of the things I’m good at is listening to people, connecting with people, understanding what makes them tick,’’ he said. “I’m good about building relationships.’’
Wu was leaning into campaign mode herself on Tuesday, though she has not formally kicked off her reelection bid. Holding her newborn daughter, Mira, Wu visited a Montessori school in Roxbury that participates in the city’s universal pre-K program, and later was greeted with applause by seniors at the Grove Hall Community Center — a five-minute walk from where Kraft had held his launch event.
Speaking to reporters, Wu jabbed back at her new opponent and said she is “eager to engage on all that the city needs’’ during the campaign.
“It’s always easier to watch from the sidelines and say ‘no’ to things or to throw stones at proposed changes,’’ she added.
Currently registered as a Democrat, Kraft has donated to many politicians on the left, including Wu herself in 2021, while also contributing to and voting for Republicans over the years. His campaign said he has never supported President Trump, though his father, Robert Kraft, had a long relationship with Trump before distancing himself last fall after the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
Kraft said on Tuesday he has never supported Trump and believes he is “unfit to be president due to his character and lack of emotional control.’’
“I love my dad,’’ he added. “We agree on a lot of things. Donald Trump, we disagree on.’’
Kraft also said if elected, he would recuse himself from any discussions involving his family’s business interests. The Kraft Group, for example, is negotiating with City Hall over a new soccer stadium for the New England Revolution in Everett near the city line.
Supporters say Josh Kraft’s decades of nonprofit work have shown him to be a compassionate, community-minded leader committed to hearing all voices. But, running a nonprofit organization, even one that serves thousands of children, is a different enterprise from running a major American city. Kraft has no experience in elected office, and also moved to Boston relatively recently: In 2023, an LLC tied to the Patriots purchased the $2 million North End condo where he lives now.
Wu, for her part, also did not grow up in Boston, though has lived in the city for years and served on the City Council before seeking the mayoralty. Wu was raised outside Chicago by Taiwanese immigrant parents and sends her two sons to Boston Public Schools. She gave birth to her third, a daughter, in January.
In response to Globe inquiries Tuesday, most elected officials in Boston held back from formally getting behind either Wu or Kraft at this early stage in the race. Nevertheless, battle lines began to take shape, as Wu’s perennial critics praised Kraft’s record and the mayor’s supporters suggested they will stand by her.
“Too often, this administration has ignored the voices of the community and dismissed input from members of the City Council,’’ City Councilor Erin Murphy said in a statement Tuesday. “The people of Boston deserve leadership that listens, and I look forward to the dialogue this race will bring.’’
Meanwhile, Councilor Sharon Durkan, who worked for Wu before getting elected to the council in 2023, said, “For over a decade, Michelle Wu has put in the work.’’
“We deserve leadership with vision, experience, and a real track record,’’ Durkan said.
Emma Platoff can be reached at emma.platoff@globe.com. Follow her @emmaplatoff.
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold.
