The list was allegedly found in an email that Wu’s opponents got by requesting public records.
The Democratic Mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu, is being called out for “Nixonian tactics” after it was revealed that her office made a list of her most vocal foes and gave it to local officials.
“The list was made in response to a request from the Boston Police Department after the Mayor had been harassed and physically threatened by people for several months outside her home, at city events like the annual neighborhood parks coffee hours, and at other public events,” Wu spokesman Ricardo Patron said in a statement to the Boston Herald.
The outlet said the list was found in an email that Wu’s opponents got through a public records request. This is how the administration found out that it had made the document.
People are worried that Wu and her staff are trying to quiet or scare off Wu’s critics, many of whom have protested in front of her house.
“Many of the people on the list repeatedly stopped the Dorchester Day Parade to harass Mayor Wu and her family and staff, yelling through megaphones at her and her children for almost 90 minutes as they marched in the parade, even though parade organizers had asked them to leave the route,” Patron told the Herald.
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“After the Dorchester Day Parade on June 5, 2022, Boston Police met with City staff on June 10 to make a safety plan for the Bunker Hill Day parade on June 12. The then-Captain of the District in charge of Charlestown asked for a list of people who had caused trouble and harassed the Mayor at the Dorchester Day Parade and outside her house,” said Patron. “The email was sent right after that meeting as a follow-up.”
Some critics told the Herald that Wu’s actions reminded them of the late President Richard Nixon, known for making names of people who disagreed with him.
The list was emailed from Wu’s former Director of Constituent Services, Dave Vittorini, to Boston Police Capt. Robert Ciccolo. According to the Herald, it includes the names of “Wu’s most vocal opponents,” such as City Council candidate Christine Vitale, several anti-vaccine activists protesting Wu’s house, and North End restaurant owners against Wu’s policies.
No explanation was given for why the names were on the list, including the “Mendoza Brothers from the North End” and “a woman with the last name of Thuy who had been arrested before,” according to a news source.
The email was sent after loud protests at the Mayor’s home in Boston’s Roslindale neighborhood last year. Wu staffers Tiffany Chu and Brianna Millor were also copied on the email.
Last year, the city passed a law that says protests can’t happen in front of Wu’s house during certain times.
Wu was sworn in as Boston’s Mayor in November 2021. She was the first woman and Asian American to hold that job in the city’s history.
