Boston Mayor Michelle Wu to focus on housing, safety, economy with third State of the City address

Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald on Mar 19, 2025

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BOSTON — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu plans to make a series of announcements at her State of the City address around housing affordability, education, energy costs and the local economy while defending the Hub’s public safety record amid federal scrutiny.

The brief preview of the first-term mayor’s third State of the City address was provided by her office ahead of tonight’s formal speech at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway.

Wu will deliver her speech at 7:30 p.m.

“Mayor Wu will share progress on her efforts to make Boston the best city in the country to raise a family, highlighting progress on addressing housing affordability, making Boston the safest major city in the country, and stabilizing Boston Public Schools,” city spokesperson Emma Pettit said in a statement.

“She will defend Boston and showcase the city as a leader amidst national uncertainty under the current federal administration,” Pettit said. “She will also make a series of announcements to address important issues facing Bostonians like housing affordability, excellent academic opportunities in and out of the classroom, energy costs, and Boston’s economy.”

Wu’s speech, delayed several months due to the birth of her third child this past January, comes on the heels of her defiant testimony before a Congressional Oversight Committee probing immigration sanctuary policies and their impact on public safety.

The mayor’s March 5 testimony in Washington, D.C. drew praise, but Wu was also criticized for racking up a $650,000 taxpayer-funded legal bill to prepare for the high-stakes hearing.

Her third State of the City is the first she will deliver during an election year, with her opponent Josh Kraft, son of the billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and longtime philanthropist, likely planning to watch closely.

Larry DiCara, an attorney, former city councilor and longtime observer of Boston politics, expects an “upbeat, positive speech” that will see the mayor focus on the city’s strengths rather than touch on issues she’s drawn criticism for this past year, like the White Stadium soccer debate and her failure to get a tax shift proposal through the Legislature.

“I think she should be positive,” DiCara said. “I think she shouldn’t gloat about how well she did in Washington. Gloating sometimes is an easy thing to do, but ends up biting you in the butt down the road.”

Boston is “in good shape” and is the “envy” of other municipalities that are heavily reliant on revenue sources like the meals and sales tax that haven’t bounced back from the pandemic, DiCara said.

While he expects Wu to tout the strength of the city, DiCara doesn’t anticipate the mayor will use the opportunity to make a campaign speech.

DiCara said, “That would not be her style.”

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