Members of the crowd, many of whom were decked out in shamrocks and all shades of green, tucked in to plates of muffins, scrambled eggs, sausages, and potatoes as they enjoyed the speeches and several musical performances.
Many of the state’s most powerful elected officials attended the event, which has been a political institution in Boston for decades. Guests seated at the front table included Governor Maura Healey, state Senate President Karen Spilka, Mayor Michelle Wu, state Auditor Diana DiZoglio, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden, and members of the state Legislature and the Boston City Council.
It didn’t take long for the pols to take aim at Wu: After welcoming the audience, Collins kicked off the event with a rendition of “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” swapping out the lyrics of the refrain for “Please fix the roads, Mayor Wu.”
Wu was quick to respond, joking that she brought along a prop baby rather than her newborn baby Mira, because “it’s bad enough that grown-ups have to sit through two and a half hours of bad jokes, I’m not going to make a baby do that!”
She greeted the crowd, saying, “It’s great to see so many friends here, and also Nick and Ed Flynn,” delivering a light-hearted jab at the two politicians who she frequently and publicly sparred with last year over her effort to pass a home rule petition that aimed to blunt property tax increases for homeowners and landlords.
Wu then turned her attention to Kraft, saying, “Josh, welcome to the race, welcome to Boston,” repeating her dig at her challenger for only recently moving within the city’s boundaries.
“Josh is running as a man of the people, and it’s true, he is currently living in subsidized housing, a $2 million condo subsidized by [his] dad’s company,” she continued, drawing loud laughs, groans, and applause from the audience.
Kraft moved to Boston and registered to vote in the city in the fall of 2023, after an LLC tied to the Patriots purchased a $2 million North End condo, where he now lives.
Wu later held up several posters of “potential mayoral candidates,” including the Monopoly man, a faceless cartoon labeled “Developer,” and two of Kraft’s father and Patriots owner Robert Kraft with big red arrows pointing either to the background or out of frame, labeled Josh Kraft.
Several other elected officials also offered jabs at Kraft’s famous and influential father.
Kraft himself then took the stage to deliver a roast and a good-natured rebuttal. As Collins welcomed Kraft to the lectern, he poked fun at the candidate while also referencing the heat he took for a comment he made about Mayor Michelle Wu at the breakfast years ago.
“In response to being a carpetbagger, Josh’s campaign stated he only had to carry his luggage 10 miles from Chestnut Hill,” Collins said. “Mayor Wu had to carry hers 1000, from the suburbs of Chicago to Cambridge, but that was just a pit stop.”
As he approached the mic Kraft greeted Wu, who was sitting directly next to the lectern. The two shook hands before Kraft took the mic.
“It’s funny, it took me so long to get up to the stage, but don’t worry, next year I’ll have a much, much better seat,” Kraft said, drawing cheers and claps from the audience.
He also took aim at the state of the city’s streets and Wu’s efforts to redevelop White Stadium with a professional women’s soccer team, joking that he saw a pothole so big, “you could not only fit one, but two soccer stadiums in that pothole.”
He added, “I was supposed to recuse myself from that joke,” referencing his pledge to recuse himself from any negotiations involving his family’s businesses should he become mayor, including the Kraft Group’s bid to build a new soccer stadium in Everett.
However, Kraft also praised Wu for her performance in DC, where she recently testified before Congress as part of a Republican-led investigation into the city’s public safety and immigration policies.
“The mayor crushed it,” Kraft said. “She was right on point. The one-liners were great, and she pushed those Republicans back, so much so that she now has my vote for United States Senator. Eddie Markey watch your back!”
Governor Maura Healey, who last year donned a head to toe “DunKings” outfit for a bit with Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll parodying a viral Dunkin’ Donuts ad, this year kept her appearance more tame.
She joked about the MBTA, the state’s upcoming 250th anniversary celebrations, and the buzz over whether she has ambitions for national office, given her recent press tour including interviews with the New York Times, and Late Night with Seth Meyers.
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio also addressed the crowd, and made pointed remarks and jokes about her battle with Beacon Hill and Attorney General Andrea Campbell over her push to audit the state Legislature.
At one point, DiZoglio held up a sign reading, “72 percent voter mandated law,” referencing the percentage of voters statewide who voted in favor of giving DiZoglio’s office the power to audit the Legislature.
DiZoglio then sang short renditions of Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” and Katy Perry’s hit “Roar,” rewriting the lyrics and proclaiming, “Tell them the law says, we’re gonna audit you!”
Niki Griswold can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @nikigriswold.
