Two former elected officials, including Michelle Wu’s last rival for the mayor’s office, publicly endorsed Josh Kraft on Monday, hours before the preliminary election in Boston.
Annissa Essaibi George, who was the second-place finisher in the 2021 preliminary election for Mayor of Boston, announced her support through a statement issued by the Kraft campaign on Monday afternoon.
A few hours later, Kraft’s team trumpeted the support of former State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, a vocal opponent of Mayor Wu on a variety of issues, including the White Stadium renovation project.
Essaibi George said: “Josh Kraft represents the kind of leadership that Boston desperately needs right now. Under Michelle Wu, the crisis at Mass and Cass has gotten worse, neighborhood services are floundering, the cost of housing is skyrocketing, and people feel less safe. We need a mayor who will take decisive action and pay attention to the problems Bostonians are feeling every day.”
Wilkerson, a former state senator who served a federal prison sentence for accepting bribes while in office in 2008, said she supports Kraft because “he listens.”
“Josh Kraft has dedicated his life to opening doors for young people who are too often left behind. From his work leading the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston to his advocacy on education, housing, and neighborhood investment, he has consistently stood with our communities,” Wilkerson said in a statement.
Essaibi George, who is a Dorchester resident and business owner, faced Michelle Wu in the general election in 2021. Wu defeated Essaibi George by a 64-26 percent margin in an election that saw roughly 33 percent participation by registered voters.
