Boston’s political rumor mill has churned for months about whether Josh Kraft, son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and head of the organization’s philanthropic arm, is eyeing a campaign for mayor of Boston.
Such a move would put him on a collision course with Michelle Wu, who has all but formally announced a run for a second four-year term.
Kraft said he had been approached about running for mayor, though he did not name names. “People have talked to me about a lot of things,” he said while leaving a recent State House event. “That being one of them.”
Asked if a mayoral campaign interests him, Kraft was coy but didn’t rule it out. “I’d be interested in a lot of different things,” he said.
Adding to the intrigue: Kraft, who has lived in Chestnut Hill, recently purchased a home in the North End. A review of records at Suffolk register of deeds shows a limited liability company – which lists Gillette Stadium, home of Patriots, as its business address – bought a condo unit in the neighborhood on October 11 for $2.35 million.
His famous surname aside, Josh Kraft himself is a familiar face around the city. In 2020, he capped 12 years as president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, where he led a campaign to raise $132 million. He currently co-chairs the governor’s task force on hate crimes and serves on the board of trustees for Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Kraft is also teaching a nonprofit management class at Suffolk University, and he’s on a track to become chair of the board at the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, a Roxbury-based nonprofit, taking over from attorney Joseph Feaster Jr.
The organization’s board has a formal process for new members and choosing officers, with an annual meeting scheduled for sometime in early 2024. But Rahsaan Hall, the Urban League president and CEO, said in a statement, “I think highly of Josh Kraft and, given his leadership experience in business and building community, I feel he would be an ideal candidate” to chair the board.
On the political side, Kraft has donated to Gov. Charlie Baker and a myriad of Democrats, including several Boston City Council candidates who were backed this past municipal election cycle by an outside group funded by New Balance chairman Jim Davis. The group was on the opposing side of Wu-supported candidates.
The next mayor’s race isn’t on the ballot until 2025, so Kraft has some time to weigh going up against an incumbent who won the top job in 2021 after eight years on the City Council.
Kraft reiterated he’s exploring multiple opportunities, including one at a national nonprofit. “I’m open to anything where I can continue to do community work,” he said.
Somerville moves on rent stabilization: Somerville could soon be the third Massachusetts city to send a rent control home rule up to Beacon Hill, where it would face an ambivalent Legislature already considering bills to allow rent stabilization measures in Boston and Brookline. If it makes it up the hill, Somerville’s pitch would be the strictest of the local home rule proposals, capping rent increases at 5 percent, or the Consumer Price Index for the area plus 2 percent. Boston’s home rule limits rent raises to 10 percent, and Brookline’s to 7 percent.
Unique form of lobbying: A Brownie troop watched a bit of history from the House gallery on Thursday as Republicans blocked Democrats from moving a spending bill forward that contains pay raises for public employees. After the dust settled, the Brownies gathered outside the chamber and, led by Sen. Nick Collins of Boston, began chanting “Approve the raises.”
1974 ticket reunited: They formed the winning Democratic ticket for governor and lieutenant governor in 1974, and Mike Dukakis and Tom O’Neill were back together nearly 50 years later on Tuesday, with O’Neill, 79, offering a steadying arm to Dukakis, who turned 90 last month, as they left the Faneuil Hall memorial service for Democratic strategist John Walsh.
