As the 2025 Boston mayoral race kicks off, some voters are still on the fence as incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu goes head-to-head with wealthy philanthropist challenger Josh Kraft, son of billionaire Robert Kraft.
February polling by Emerson College Polling revealed 43% of Boston in favor of Wu, compared to 29% for Kraft. Approximately 24% of Boston voters are still deciding on who should be in office come November. Jorge Mendoza-Iturralde, a third party candidate and North End restaurant owner who announced his candidacy for mayor last May, garnered 2%.
Ali Foley, a registered independent and resident of Boston who is currently undecided, said she was “intrigued” to see Kraft’s campaign.
“Boston’s voters’ voice has been forgotten,” said Foley. “What [Kraft] is bringing to the table is he has deep community relationships and trust that has been built for many years.”
Kraft sports a philanthropic background with stints as the head of Kraft Family Charities and the Boston Boys & Girls Club. However, the candidate’s campaign has been marred by questions surrounding his wealthy background, his father’s support of President Donald Trump, and alleged conflicts of interest that arise from his familial business dealings.
“Although he comes from a fortunate background, he intentionally chose a career of service,” Foley said. “A career dedicated to helping those who are less fortunate than others.”
Bryan Edouard, a senior visual media arts major at Emerson College from Mattapan, remembers Kraft fondly from his childhood at the Boys & Girls Club.
“He did a lot of things for us kids. He gave us gyms, he gave us funds to do trips,” Edouard said. “[Mayor Wu] is a mother. She has kids who are in the [Boston Public Schools] system, so she gets it. But Kraft gets it too, and he knows his stuff just as much as Mayor Wu, so I’m on the fence.”
Foley feels like her community has not been “brought to the table” on issues such as bike and bus lane infrastructure, pointing out Mayor Wu’s removal of a Boylston bus lane last month that was just constructed in the last few years.
“The people were not brought to the table to be actively involved in the planning and development of bike lane infrastructure early enough,” Foley said, “There was not a lot of consideration given to what the impacts would be to residents, both from a safety perspective, as well as a congestion perspective.”
Kraft received raucous applause when he promised to pause all bike lane construction at his campaign announcement early last month.
Edouard told Tthe Beacon that while he feels bus lanes are also a problem, he is more concerned about the investments being made into his community and its lack of safe havens.
“We need more healthy stuff. More locations, hot spots where kids and people who need resources can go to,” Edouard said, “All these dispensaries? All these vice stores being glorified and brought up? I feel like that’s also counterproductive to our area.”
On Boston’s housing crisis, Foley and Edouard said that both candidates must address it.
“I think [voters] are looking for more housing, and how we can streamline more housing being built without the red tape that is there. I think [Kraft] is taking a wide-eyed view on this.” Foley said.
Although Foley recognizes Wu’s “creative” office to residential conversion tax break, she takes issue with the mayor’s lack of “movement” on housing affordability, as well as proposed housing developments Foley said would have “severe impacts to visual sight lines.”
“Early on, [Mayor Wu] was touting raising rent control. We haven’t seen anything about this to date,” Foley said.
Wu attempted to pass a Boston rent control measure through the state legislature in 2023 before it stalled out in Beacon Hill last year. Kraft’s housing plan would revert Wu’s inclusionary development policy mandating the creation of affordable units in new developments at 17% back to 13%. He has also proposed an “opt-in rent control,” which would incentivize landlords with tax breaks as opposed to forcing them to keep rents affordable. Wu has termed it “fake rent control.”
Edouard, who was raised in Section 8 housing, has seen both himself and people around him struggle in the midst of Boston’s housing crisis, and says the system is “full of frustrations.”
“It’s backwards. They gotta do better,” he said. “It’s very heartbreaking to know that somebody can’t even try to better themselves without Massachusetts breathing down their neck saying ‘Oh, you don’t need this anymore.’”
Eligibility for a Section 8 voucher in Massachusetts is “generally” dependent on staying below 50% of the Area Median Income. In Boston, 50% of the AMI in 2024 for a one-occupant household was $57,100. Edouard also pointed to the large number of migrants the state saw last year enter the housing market.
“I’m not saying don’t help the people who are coming from the outside,” Edouard said, “But don’t forget about the people you are meant to protect from the jump who are already Massachusetts residents.”
On March 5, Wu will testify before Congress regarding the city’s Trust Act that restricts some cooperation between Boston police and the federal government on immigration enforcement.
“[Kraft] supports the Trust Act, as it directs the BPD to cooperate with ICE with respect to the immediate removal of violent criminals while protecting others,” the Kraft campaign wrote in an emailed statement regarding the Trust Act.
“Many of us voted for Wu, okay? But we feel like the vision that we voted for is not the Boston that we see today,” Foley said.
“I don’t want to pick favorites. I want the best to win,” said Edouard, “Meaning that they know what they are doing, they have the vision, they have the willingness to develop connections. I want the best to win.”
