Another poll shows Janey, Wu in the lead

Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey and City Councillor At-Large Michelle Wu are leading in the polls, though a good chunk of voters remains undecided.

A recent poll on the Boston mayor’s race offers another snapshot of the six-way contest.

The poll — conducted for a new coalition that includes a construction union, a developer and a real estate investment and development firm— shows 31 percent putting themselves down as “Undecided.”

The poll, which mirrors a poll earlier this year from the Dorchester Reporter, WBUR and the Boston Foundation, found Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey with 22 percent and City Councillor At-Large Michelle Wu with 21 percent. City Councillor Annissa Essaibi George received 10 percent, while District 4 Councillor Andrea Campbell picked up 6 percent. John Barros, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s former economic development chief, and South End state Rep. Jon Santiago, each picked up 5 percent.

One percent chose “Other.”

Now, a caveat: It’s a month old. The poll surveyed 400 likely 2021 voters in Boston between May 13 and May 16. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.

The poll was conducted by Global Strategy Group, a company used by former Mayor Marty Walsh during the 2013 mayoral race and as recently as late last year, before he was tapped as President Joe Biden’s labor secretary. The company has also done polling for the Democratic State Committee, according to public filings with state campaign finance regulators.

The poll was sponsored by the Responsible Development Coalition (RDC), a new group chaired by Joe Byrne, the executive secretary treasurer of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. Jim Grossmann, a founding partner, is the founder of RISE Construction Management. Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, which earlier this year opened a 14-story hotel in Boston's Seaport neighborhood, is also a member of the new coalition.

The coalition is seeking to pressure mayoral candidates into signing a pledge that calls for providing union jobs, equal pay and energy efficiency in real estate development. The coalition, which hasn't endorsed a candidate but plans a July 14 mayoral forum, says it plans to spend $500,000 to push its issues.

The voters in the RDC poll listed housing and affordability as their top issue, followed by schools and education next, “crime/drugs/gangs,” and “public transportation/MBTA/T,” according to a presentation of the poll provided to the Reporter.

In the Dorchester Reporter/WBUR/Boston Foundation poll of registered voters from April, conducted by MassINC Polling Group, 46 percent said they were undecided. Wu picked up 19 percent and Janey garnered 18 percent.

Another poll, reported on by the Bay State Banner, had Essaibi George in the lead with 22 percent of likely voters. Wu had 18 percent and Janey at 16 percent. The poll was conducted by two firms, Poll Progressive and Emancipated Group, between May 25 and May 30.

The preliminary, which will winnow the field to two candidates, is set for Sept. 14.

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