Josh Kraft accuses Boston Mayor Wu of hiding White Stadium taxpayer cost until after election

Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft seized on Mayor Michelle Wu s latest delay in releasing final taxpayer costs of her administration s public-private rehab of White Stadium as evidence she s hiding that figure until after the poll Kraft stated Wednesday that Wu s latest remarks on the radio this week when she pushed back the timeline for releasing a final budget for the project from this summer to later this calendar year after all construction bids are finalized are indicative of what he sees as the mayor s lack of transparency around how taxpayer dollars are being spent on the pro soccer stadium rehab You know what that means it means she won t disclose these figures until after the balloting Kraft commented at a press conference he convened at Franklin Park s White Stadium Now this shouldn t be surprising From the get-go Michelle Wu has tried to downplay the cost of this project The city s half of the roughly million project nearly doubled from million to million at the end of last year An internal city document revealed by Kraft last month displayed the cost to taxpayers was projected to climb as high as million a prospective Wu acknowledged but described as a worst-case scenario at the time Last month Wu stated taxpayer costs are likely to exceed that million figure and that the city would have a clearer picture of what the final budget would be after putting different aspects of construction out to bid which she reported began this summer She doubled down on that timeline earlier this month saying on a radio venture that we should know in a limited weeks But Wu backed off that timeline on Tuesday The mayor didn t provide an updated cost estimate saying the city will continue putting out construction bids this fall and that the field will dictate costs As far as when final costs would materialize Wu would only say Later this calendar year the bids should all be out the door Wu wouldn t commit to releasing the final budget for the city s taxpayer-funded half of the project before the November electoral contest when speaking with reporters after an unrelated campaign event she held at a downtown business Wednesday but defended her administration s financial transparency around the plan thus far Everything that we do as a city is constituents Wu mentioned We are subject to transparency laws And at the point where numbers are finalized they are residents and available Wu reported the city has pegged demolition at million and that other costs will be shared as they become available with the larger package or final budget being published this year as well when it becomes finalized according to the process we use for every single city building project The transparency around this project has been more than any other general project Wu declared She mentioned populace meetings that have been held and a publicly-released city lease agreement with the National Women s Soccer League squad set to share use of White Stadium with Boston Constituents Schools student-athletes What all of this politicization of this is doing really is contributing to a sense that our communities are very familiar with Wu announced This stadium has been falling down for -plus years Yes we are putting inhabitants dollars to a really crucial and big project It s one that s been talked about for years and this is the first time that there s real concrete action to make it happen Kraft declared however that the population funds budgeted for the project can and should be better spent on a host of central priorities such as housing production residential tax relief for seniors and society school improvement projects The time has come for Michelle Wu to stop hiding behind process and bid deadlines Kraft revealed Her lack of transparency is thoroughly unacceptable Kraft announced he would cancel the current contract with Boston Unity Soccer Partners which owns the new NWSL crew the Boston Legacy and develop a high-school-only stadium rehab plan which he and other project opponents favor While Kraft sought to spotlight Wu s perceived lack of financial transparency on White Stadium he was instead largely peppered by reporters with questions about his own unfulfilled promise to release his tax returns and financial statements Kraft has revealed his tax return is on extension That puts his IRS filing deadline at Oct after the September preliminary referendum I will release my financial information when it s ready and on my timeline Kraft mentioned I reported I d do it and I ll do it When required why he wouldn t release his tax return in the meantime Kraft son of the billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft reiterated his remarks adding in visible frustration If I say I m going to do something I do Related Articles Boston City Hall staffer embroiled in alleged North End shoe fight Boston Mayor Wu dismisses calls for National Guard deployment to tackle Mass and Cass spillover Boston Mayor Wu pushes back timeline for final taxpayer costs for White Stadium Battenfeld Michelle Wu ducking summer crime spree in safest city in America Kraft calls for emergency measures from Mayor Wu after -year-old initiatives on needle The latest mayoral poll published by Suffolk University presented Kraft was trailing Wu by points with a little over a month before the preliminary electoral process At her own press event Wu who last week called on Kraft to release his tax returns to reveal any financial interests or business entanglements again accused him of trying to hide that information Wu disclosed her tax return to the media in May All Kraft has announced is that we don t listen enough and he will listen more Wu commented But my question is listen to who Trump mega donors the owners of the Cleveland Browns his business interests and conflicts with the Kraft Group who are looking to build a Revs stadium in Everett and continue to ignore the city of Boston s basic request for information about the project consultants who advise him to hide his tax returns even months after promising that they would be distributed and shared Our businesses don t get to hide their financials