The Boston Globe
February 14, 2022
The following is an excerpt
Developers hedged their bets in the Boston mayoral race
Bruce Percelay, chairman of the Mount Vernon Company, a real estate firm that gave Wu $15,000, described the contribution as “an expression that we want to work together and we support her.” But “it’s not as if we’re working to build a relationship with the mayor because we have something in the pipeline,” he said.
“To draw the connection that our donation, or anyone else’s donation, is designed to influence the outcome of a real estate development is naive,” Percelay said. “Michelle Wu is incredibly intelligent. She is very disciplined. And she is not going to change her position because someone made a donation.”
Developers also want to celebrate the first woman, and first person of color, elected mayor of Boston, said Pam McDermott, a real estate consultant who represents some developers who donated to Wu.
“Everyone wants Mayor Wu to succeed, and the development community is no different,” she said.
Like Walsh, Wu chose to cap donations at $25,000. She received 21 donations of that size, including one from “Rise Construction Management Inc.,” a prominent construction company, and a second from its development arm “Rise Together,” which is located at the same Dorchester address and shares some of the same executives. Rise recently filed with the city massive plans to remake the Sullivan Square area in Charlestown with a 900,000-square-foot office and lab complex.