"Josh Kraft Mayoral Forum," the 15th episode of SPOA Housing Policy Series, included media personality Mike Urban and news reporter Scott Van Voorhis on the panel, as they asked candidate Kraft questions about his campaign for Boston Mayor.The issues included rent control, housing supply, property taxes, energy costs, public safety, and SPOA’s vision for homeownership. Moderated by SPOA Vice President, Amir Shahsavari, the video is available to view within the first article of this newsletter. In addition, the commentaries of Urban and Van Voorhis are included below in their respective publications.
From Mike Urban: Who Will Be Boston’s Next Mayor?
From Scott Van Voorhis in Contrarian Boston: 05.23.2025
Word games: Josh Kraft pitches his “rent control” plan to local landlords on SPOA’s podcastWell, one thing is clear after Josh Kraft’s appearance on the Small Property Owners Association’s podcast.The Boston mayoral candidate has no plans to change the name of his proposal to get local landlords to limit rent increases in exchange for tax breaks, which he insists on calling rent control.We’d have to agree with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who recently stated that Kraft’s plan is a form of fake rent control.But unlike Wu, we believe that’s a good thing, given that creating a rent control bureaucracy to cap and police rents would be a disaster, driving developers with plans for new apartments out of the city.Kraft did not bite when we semi-seriously suggested he change the name of his proposal to something like “rent support.”More seriously, “rent control” are fighting words in the real estate industry, which, along with other members of the business community, see Kraft as a much more pragmatic, moderate alternative to the uber-progressive Wu.However, that was just one small part of a wide-ranging discussion in which Kraft touched upon the need to boost construction of new housing, bike lanes, crime, and disparities in how properties are taxed, among other issues.Kraft also took questions from Mike Urban, a local real estate broker with a popular podcast and YouTube channel, Chris Lehman, co-founder of fintech Groma, and Demetrios Salpoglou (CEO, Boston Pads).SPOA Vice President, Amir Shahsavari served as moderator.
by Allen Hebert