The super PAC’s stated goal is to support candidates “who represent a balanced and fair Boston for all” and oppose those it deems does not.
Walsh, a former US Labor Secretary and the current NHL players union chief, told the Globe this week that he was endorsing Alexandra Valdez in addition to Frank Baker for at-large seats on the city council, saying they’d bring balance to a panel that has provided “very little pushback” to Mayor Michelle Wu.
Walsh specifically called Baker, a Dorchester resident who previously represented District 3, “a balanced voice that’s needed in the council.” He said Valdez, who began working for the city under his administration, would be a “strong voice for the constituents of Boston.”
Kathryn Burton, Walsh’s former chief of staff in City Hall, is listed as the PAC’s chair, and its treasurer is Ellis Brewster, a consultant with LB Strategies, the firm Walsh’s own campaign committee has long turned to for compliance and other work.
Burton did not return messages Thursday about the super PAC. Walsh also did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment about his level of involvement.
Super PACs — known formally as independent expenditure political action committees — are allowed to spend and raise unlimited sums of money, including from corporations.
Over the next decade-plus, the entities have carved out an increasingly outsized role, both in Boston elections — this year’s mayoral race included — and statewide races where candidates face far stricter limits on the donations they can receive from supporters. Super PACs have collectively spent $4.4 million either in supporting or opposing candidates this year, according to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
A super PAC also faces different rules for when the public can see what they’ve spent or raised. The groups don’t have to disclose any activity, be it sending a mailer or running a television ad, until they “utilize” the funds, and then only have to submit the public filing within seven business days.
The rules tighten within 10 days of Election Day, when they must disclose any activity within 24 hours.
But under the current calendar, if a super PAC were to make a major ad purchase on Friday, it wouldn’t have to disclose for seven business days — or Election Day itself, when many voters will have already made their picks.
Early in-person voting begins Saturday.
Walsh, who served as Boston’s mayor for seven years, has not been on a ballot since 2017, but his personal campaign committee has been active, regularly spreading donations to nonprofits and charities.
He also has kept a hulking war chest without having to raise money. The $2.96 million he had on hand to close September is the most of any municipal account, topping even Wu’s, and is higher than that of any statewide candidate outside of Governor Maura Healey. She reported having nearly $4.1 million on hand at the end of last month.
But while Walsh could donate personally to the super PAC, it appears he wouldn’t be able put his campaign cash toward one. State law bars a candidate’s committee from being able to “finance” a PAC, and state regulators have also said that super PACs are not allowed to directly or indirectly coordinate “with any Massachusetts candidate or political committee,” other than another super PAC.
Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him @mattpstout.
About the Author
