In first TV ads, Boston mayoral hopeful Kraft’s former colleagues praise his humility, leadership

Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft is firing off a first volley of television ads that highlight his time at the helm of Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston.

“Josh saw me,” says Jonte Joseph in a 30-second spot. Joseph, now a young adult, was 9 years old when he first met Kraft at the Charlestown Boys and Girls Club, according to the Kraft campaign. “Politicians talk about giving opportunities to people like me, but Josh actually did it.”

Kraft, the son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft and the late philanthropist Myra Kraft, served as CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston from 2008 to 2020. In the slate of TV ads, Kraft’s former colleagues at Boys and Girls Clubs attest that he led with a humility that belied his upper-crust background.

“He doesn’t lead with his checkbook. He leads with his heart,” says Ronia Joseph, who serves on the advisory board for the Yawkey Club of Roxbury.

Leah Reich, who worked alongside Kraft in the Boys and Girls Clubs’ front office, recalls once watching Kraft mop up a kid’s vomit. “He doesn’t think he’s better than anyone,” she says.

The ads appear geared to address critics who say Kraft, who moved from Chestnut Hill to the North End in 2023, lacks deep roots in Boston.

Critics say Kraft has not drawn a stark contrast from his opponent, sitting Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, on key issues like climate change or immigration, among others. Instead, Kraft has tried to distinguish himself in neighborhood battles over bike lanes and a soccer stadium in Franklin Park.

The ad campaign mostly steers clear of those skirmishes. Just one spot, featuring community organizer Ahmad Barry, winks at Kraft’s central critique of Wu: that she’s unresponsive to people’s everyday wants and needs.

“Josh would be a great mayor,” Barry says. “A different kind of mayor, because he listens.”

Bostonians will start seeing the ads on TV and streaming on Friday.

Super PACs backing both Kraft and Wu have already poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into advertising for their preferred candidates. Asked about the size of this ad spend, a Kraft campaign spokesperson declined comment.