OAN’s Brooke Mallory
1:32 PM – Sunday, July 16, 2023
Boston’s Democrat mayor, Michelle Wu, is being chastised for utilizing what some referred to as “Nixonian tactics” after admitting to compiling a list of her most outspoken detractors and sending it to local authorities.
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“The list was made in response to a request from the Boston Police Department after the Mayor had been harassed and physically intimidated by individuals for several months outside her home, at city functions such as the annual neighborhood parks coffee hours, and at other public events,” Wu spokesman Ricardo Patron said in a statement.
The administration acknowledged compiling the document after the list was discovered in an email received through a public document request by Wu’s opponents.
The government’s efforts raise questions about whether Wu and her administration are seeking to suppress or intimidate her detractors.
“The request (from police) came after many of the individuals on the list repeatedly impeded the Dorchester Day Parade to harass Mayor Wu and her family and staff, yelling through megaphones at her and her children for nearly ninety minutes as they marched in the parade despite being asked by parade organizers to leave the parade route,” Patron said.
“Following the Dorchester Day Parade on June 5, 2022, Boston Police met with City staff on June 10 to make a safety plan for the upcoming Bunker Hill Day parade on June 12, and the then-Captain of the District overseeing Charlestown asked for a list of individuals who had been involved in public disruption and harassment of the Mayor at the Dorchester Day Parade and outside her house,” the spokesman added.
The email was reportedly sent as a follow-up communication after the meeting ended.
According to the Boston Herald, several critics compared Wu’s conduct to that of the late President Richard Nixon, who was known to similarly keep lists of his political opponents.
The email from Wu’s former Director of Constituent Services Dave Vittorini to Police Capt. Robert Ciccolo reportedly contained the names of the mayor’s “most vocal opponents, such as [Boston City Council at-large candidate Catherine Vitale], several anti-vaccine activists who have been protesting Wu’s house, and North End restaurant owners who have opposed Wu policies.”
The list offered no further explanation for why the names were given and included oddly labeled individuals like “Mendoza Brothers from the North End” and “A woman with the last name Thuy who was arrested previously,” the outlet reported.
Wu’s aides, Tiffany Chu and Brianna Millor, were also CC’d on the email, which was received following last year’s chaotic protests near the mayor’s home in Boston’s Roslindale neighborhood.
Last year, the city also issued an ordinance barring protests outside Wu’s residence during certain hours.
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