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What issues do you care about in Boston’s mayoral election?
Which issues do you want Boston's mayoral candidates to prioritize?
As the 2025 Boston mayoral election inches closer, many voters are thinking about the candidates competing for their vote — and the issues they’re running on.
Incumbent Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is seeking reelection against challenger Josh Kraft, a philanthropist and the son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Kraft has never held political office, although he worked for the Boys & Girls Club of Boston for three decades, including 12 years as president and CEO before stepping down in 2020.
Community organizer Domingos DaRosa and retired police officer Robert Cappucci are also running for mayor, although Wu and Kraft have become the de facto frontrunners in the race.
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A non-partisan preliminary election will be held on Sept. 9 to narrow the race to two candidates, followed by the general election on Nov. 4. The mayoral election is to be held simultaneously with the 2025 Boston City Council election.
Wu and Kraft have butted heads in the months since they launched their campaigns this past the spring.
Below, we lay out some of the main issues that have divide both candidates, and ask you to weigh in on what’s most important to you.
Housing | Immigration | Infrastructure | Public safety | Tell us which issues matter to you
Housing
Wu has touted her administration’s housing initiatives, saying they have helped create more affordable housing than any other administration since 1998.
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In 2023, Wu proposed a rent control initiative, which was approved by the City Council but failed to gain enough support in the state legislature. Kraft’s rent control proposal shares several elements with Wu’s, but differs in that it would be voluntary for landlords, who would be incentivized through property tax breaks to participate. Wu criticized Kraft’s proposal, calling it a “fake rent control.”
Kraft’s approach is three-pronged: jumpstart housing production by streamlining the process for building permitted housing units, offer an “opt-in rent control” system that “benefits both landlords and renters,” and reinvest tax revenue from the new units to help first-time homebuyers.
Immigration
Wu is a staunch defender of the Boston Trust Act, the city’s so-called “sanctuary” policy, and credits Boston’s improvement in public safety to the trust the city builds between residents and law enforcement.
Kraft also supports the Trust Act and has vocally opposed President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans. While Josh Kraft has said he never financially supported Trump, his father’s associations with the president could become a political liability for his mayoral campaign in Boston.
Infrastructure
Wu has long been a vocal supporter of bike infrastructure. However, her stance has evolved in recent months, following calls from critics who feel the city rushed the installation of bike lanes at the expense of cyclists and bus commuters. In March, the city walked back a proposed bus lane, removed barriers from protected bike lanes, and announced a comprehensive “review” of street changes made in the last three years.
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Meanwhile, Kraft has made the city’s expansion of bike and bus lanes — and the frustration many Bostonians feel about them — a major part of his campaign. He has said that he would issue an “immediate pause” on new bike lane construction.
Public safety
Shortly after taking office, Wu led efforts to dismantle a large homeless encampment at the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue. In 2023, her administration managed another operation to clear a nearby encampment on Atkinson Street. The stated aim was to connect individuals living outside or struggling with mental health and substance use issues with housing and social services.
However, Kraft has seized on the concerns surrounding Mass. and Cass, accusing Wu of mishandling the crisis while introducing his own plan. His proposal focuses on increased police action and a shift away from “harm reduction” strategies.
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