The pricey renovation of Franklin Park’s White Stadium as the new home of Boston’s women’s soccer team (a project I support) remains unpopular and under court challenge, awaiting a hearing before the Supreme Judicial Court.
It’s all a stark contrast from the heady days of a mere four months ago, when Wu walloped her well-financed opponent, Josh Kraft, by 49 points.
That race was largely driven by Wu’s fierce attacks on President Donald Trump — conveniently, an old friend of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Josh’s dad.
Right on schedule, the adrenaline jolt of the campaign trail has been replaced by the much more challenging day-to-day grunt work of running city government.
As the old saying goes, you campaign in poetry, you govern in prose.
Obviously, Wu remains a popular mayor. But popularity isn’t everything, and the problems are mounting.
Take Parcel 3, an eight-acre vacant lot in Roxbury that has been awaiting development for decades. Following a years-long community process, a popular development team, led by developer Tom O’Brien and Rev. Jeffrey Brown was picked by the city to build on the parcel in 2023.
The plan included laboratory space, deeply affordable home ownership, and a cultural center that would house Embrace Boston, the social justice nonprofit best known for the “Embrace” statue on Boston Common depicting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.
Wu’s team clumsily announced the designation would be withdrawn later this month, with part of Parcel 3 to be offered up as the site of a new Madison Park Technical Vocational High School. Whatever isn’t needed for the new school will be offered for development at a later date, Wu has said.
Wu urgently needs a path out of her political problems in Roxbury, a community that is currently feeling seriously disrespected by City Hall.
Characteristically, she has insisted she has no intention of revisiting her decision. Bad idea.
Wu would be much better served by extending the designation for a year and working with the developers on a new plan that can be implemented in tandem with rebuilding the school. She insists her problem is with the plan, not the developers (O’Brien once toyed with challenging Wu in the last mayoral election.) So why not work with them to find something that works?
More complicated is her tough relationship with leaders on Beacon Hill. Egged on by business leaders, who have resented Wu, with varying degrees of intensity, from day one, they have blocked many of her signature ideas, from tax relief to rent control to expanded free public transit.
Some of this is driven by centrist opposition to a progressive mayor’s politics. But just as much of it owes to Wu’s rocky relationships with leadership, including Senate President Karen Spilka and Governor Maura Healey.
Apparently, Team Wu’s current strategy is to challenge senators deemed as hostile. Former Wu aide Daniel Lander is running against veteran Will Brownsberger, while rumors continue to circulate Wu is seeking a candidate to oppose South Boston Senator Nick Collins, who has made a passion project out of killing her property tax proposal.
Collins, in particular, deserves the challenge. But even if successful, knocking off a couple of state senators won’t fix much. It could very well make even more enemies at the State House, where such challenges are always resented. Wu could gain two friends and make 10 more enemies in the process.
It’s important to note that Wu’s problems with State House leadership aren’t entirely her fault. Self-importance seems baked into these roles, along with an insulting belief that the mayor of Boston is some kind of subordinate. She is far from the first mayor to grapple with these relationships.
Still, the only real way forward for Wu is to find a way to mend some fences with Spilka and Healey because so many of her priorities run through Beacon Hill . That might not sound like fun for her, but dealing with adversaries is also basic politics. At some point, it becomes unavoidable.
Watching Wu during the campaign, it was clear that beating up on Trump and Josh Kraft was fun and invigorating. It also showcased Wu’s impressive political strengths. This year will be harder, with a different yardstick for success.
Welcome back to the grind, Mayor.
Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at adrian.walker@globe.com. Follow him @Adrian_Walker.