Wu raises $1.1M from developers, businesses for inauguration

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu raised more than $1.1 million in donations last month for her second inauguration. Local companies likely to have business before the city contributed tens of thousands of dollars for the Democrat to celebrate her reelection, state records show.

Wu planned a week’s worth of inaugural events, including Monday’s formal ceremony and gatherings later that evening at the Lenox Hotel and Boston Public Library.

Some of Boston's most powerful businesses, unions, professional sports teams and lobbyists helped bankroll Monday's inauguration at Symphony Hall, according to the financial disclosure filed by Wu to the state nearly 12 hours after she was sworn in.

That includes $50,000 contributions from the Boston Red Sox, the electrical workers unions IBEW 103 and National Electrical Contractors Association of Greater Boston, and WHOOP, a Boston-based technology company best known for its wearable health tracker.

The mayor also took cash from multiple real estate developers, including $25,000 from Samuels & Associates, which is behind Lyrik Back Bay, the office, lab, retail and hotel space that spans the Massachusetts Turnpike near Massachusetts Avenue, and $25,000 from New England Development, which has worked on projects at Logan Airport and Allston Yards.

Wu glided to reelection last year, turning away a well-funded challenge by philanthropist Josh Kraft.

She also saw her national reputation buoyed by high-profile battles with the Trump administration and an appearance before Congress in March, where she fielded pointed questions from Republicans about the city’s immigration policies.

A spokesperson for Wu's inaugural committee said officials behind the political fund solicited private donations so that events could be held for free across the city.

"As is common practice, an inaugural committee was created to raise resources for commemorations without using any taxpayer dollars or public resources," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Donors to Wu’s inauguration fund praised the mayor, while others cited policies she's enacted that benefited their organizations.

IBEW 103 business manager Louis Antonellis and NECA executive manager Kristen Gowin pointed to a project labor agreement that Wu signed for Madison Park Technical Vocational High School and the redevelopment of White Stadium in Franklin Park.

“At a time when the city faces serious pressure from federal funding cuts and economic uncertainty, Mayor Wu has been willing to stand up for Boston and be an advocate for workers in the face of those challenges,” Antonellis and Gowin said in a statement.

A spokesperson for WHOOP said the company’s contribution “reflects our support for civic traditions and our community.”

Kate Reilly, a spokesperson for the Red Sox, said the baseball team is “deeply connected to the city of Boston” and has a long-standing practice of supporting the sitting mayor.

Unlike individual politicians, inaugural funds face few restrictions and can take in money from virtually anyone — including corporations and out-of-state donors — so long as the cash is spent on events or activities connected to the inauguration.

Geoff Foster, the executive director of the government watchdog group Common Cause Massachusetts, said large contributions from “interested parties can still create a perception of a red flag.”

“That's why disclosure requirements are vital, because they let the public and watchdog groups like ours see who donated so that we can help deter or expose any undue influence down the road,” Foster said in an interview.

Other donors to Wu’s inaugural fund include Capitol Waste Services, Liberty Mutual, North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, Democratic donor Paul Egerman and his wife, Joanne, the law firm Kerbey Harrington Pinkard LLP, Superior Dining Group, the real estate group Synergy Boston, and WinnDevelopment, another real estate development firm.

Boston Legacy FC, the professional women’s soccer team that is expected to play at White Stadium starting next year, donated $15,000 to Wu’s inauguration. The project to rebuild the stadium was a major talking point for Kraft during the mayoral campaign.

The Edward Davis Company, a security company run by former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, donated $25,000 to Wu’s inauguration fund, records show.

After her first mayoral election victory in 2021, Wu raised more than $1.3 million for her inauguration, with hundreds of thousands of dollars flowing into her fund months after she was sworn into office in January of that year, state records show.

Other politicians have also raised millions for their celebrations.

Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll pulled in more than $3 million for their 2023 inauguration, records show.

Former Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito took in over $2.3 million for their first inauguration in 2015 and another $1.7 million for their second inauguration in 2019, according to campaign finance records.

Former Mayor Marty Walsh raised nearly $1.3 million for his first inauguration in 2014, state data shows.