Josh Kraft, Son of Patriots Owner, Will Run for Mayor of Boston

(Bloomberg) -- Josh Kraft, the son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, is running for mayor of Boston.

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Kraft will officially announce his plans to seek office on Tuesday at an event in the city’s Dorchester neighborhood, according to his campaign. He’s attempting to oust Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu, who has confirmed she’s seeking a second term in the Nov. 4 vote. The last time an incumbent mayor lost reelection in Boston was 1949.

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Boston is “heading in the wrong direction,” Kraft said in his first campaign video. The current administration “puts politics and ideology ahead of impact,” he added.

A key plank of Kraft’s campaign will be a push to lower housing costs by fostering more construction. He listed his party affiliation as Democrat in a campaign filing.

Kraft, 57, is the chair of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, a nonprofit focused on helping adults overcome racial, social and economic barriers. He also oversees his family’s philanthropic efforts as president of the New England Patriots Foundation. He previously ran the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston.

Kraft’s father, who has owned the National Football League team since 1994, has an estimated net worth of $9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Wu became the first woman and the first person of color to lead Boston after winning the mayor’s seat in 2021. She has also targeted Boston’s high housing costs, including a campaign to rejigger the city’s property tax system to ease the burden on homeowners from a shortfall in commercial levies.

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Wu last month revived her push for residential tax relief after the Massachusetts Senate thwarted her proposed overhaul last year.

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