A master of PR George Regan once fought the press inside Boston City Hall on Mayor Kevin White’s behalf. Decades later, he spends his time battling Mayor Michelle Wu on behalf of outside clients.
Reagan is known for working with a super PAC funded largely by business leaders to defeat Wu in the 2021 mayoral race and then block a City Council candidate two years later, a failed effort that was a disappointment for the campaigns he was trying to support.
Regan has now moved into the policy arena, aligning with Wu’s opponents, including North End restaurateurs upset about the ban on outdoor dining. He has also received support from former Boston Police Commissioner Willie Gross, who worked with Regan on one of the anti-Wu super PACs since 2021.
Regan entered the fray this week on behalf of global tax consulting firm Ryan LLC, which opposes Wu’s proposal to shift much of the property tax burden onto commercial property owners to protect them from tax rate spikes caused by declining commercial property values. Dan Swift, president of Ryan LLC, is scheduled to testify about the proposal before the City Council next week.
Mr. Reagan’s comments last year, coupled with comments about the need to save the city from “ultra-progressive” policies, have cynics wondering who might get his support in the 2025 mayoral election. Boston MagazineThe magazine’s list of the 150 “most influential Bostonians,” which ranked Wu No. 2 and Regan No. 42, noted speculation that they were “looking to back a challenger” to Wu, a reference that was removed from online after Regan personally called the magazine, which is a client of his.
A spokesman for Reagan said the PR firm had done work for Josh Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Foundation, who is considering a mayoral run, but that Reagan insisted he was not under contract with the mayoral candidate. Commonwealth Beacon Late Thursday, references to the company’s work for Kraft were removed from Regan’s website.
A Kraft spokesman said the company had a short-term contract with Regan to develop its social media presence, but that it ended in September 2023. “There is no current working relationship between Josh and Regan Communications.”
As for the statement removed from the magazine, Regan’s spokesperson said the original statement was removed because it was inaccurate. The online version reads: “Regan has been trying to make people aware of her situation. Outside “Whenever something goes wrong, it’s in the news,” and apparently that includes him.
Campbell asks Commonwealth Beacon for correction
It’s clearly not easy for progressive Democrats in Massachusetts to support fossil fuel projects, which may be why Attorney General Andrea Campbell is calling for amendments to the recent bill. Commonwealth Beacon Story.
The article reported that the Department of Public Works approved three public works contracts with Constellation Energy that will allow the Everett LNG marine terminal to operate until at least 2030. Campbell supported approving the contracts but had strong concerns about some parts of the contracts, according to the article.
Max German, a deputy press secretary for Campbell, issued a correction on Wednesday: “We did not in fact recommend approval and were careful not to do so,” German wrote.
He acknowledged that Campbell’s brief on the case said, “The Attorney General’s Office did not recommend that the Department reject the agreement.” The double negative could be interpreted as an endorsement, but German said it was not. “While that may seem nuanced, we think it is important that it be accurately reported that the Attorney General’s Office did not recommend approval,” German said.
Unexpected luck?
Beacon Hill seemed pleased this week when state revenue officials reported that a wealth tax approved by voters for 2022 generated $1.8 billion in revenue to be spent on education and transportation. Boston GlovesThe headline of the article said revenues “well surpassed expectations.”
But those projections came from estimates agreed upon by Beacon Hill leaders, which Senate Budget Director Michael Rodriguez acknowledged were “very conservative.” The estimates came after a hearing in which budget writers heard testimony from experts, including Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University, who said at the time that a wealth tax would generate “roughly $1.9 billion.”
Horowitz, speaking this week, said it’s still possible the state could end the fiscal year with more money, but that the wealth tax is working as expected. (He also said there are signs that some taxpayers are changing their behavior, weakening broader tax revenues.)
“There’s no such thing as a windfall,” he said. “If all you hear is more than you expected, that’s the wrong message.”
