Josh Kraft, a scion of the family that owns the New England Patriots football organization, intends to announce his candidacy for mayor of Boston next month, according to sources close to his emerging campaign.

The news, first reported on Monday by Politico Massachusetts, comes after more than a year of speculation that Kraft— a longtime youth worker and son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft— would challenge incumbent Mayor Wu, who is up for re-election later this year.

The 58-year-old Kraft runs the New England Patriots Foundation, is the board chair of the Urban League of Massachusetts, which is based in Roxbury, and formerly was the president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston. The Mattapan Teen Center that the BGCB owns and manages is named for him.

He has also been a generous philanthropist to many other causes across the region and a regular attendee at neighborhood events across Boston over the last few years.

City Councillor Ed Flynn, who had been weighing his own challenge of Wu, will not be a candidate, according to the Boston Herald. For her part, the mayor delivered a healthy baby girl, her third child, on Jan. 13.

Candidates cannot begin the process of getting on the ballot for the September and November elections until April. Those choosing to run for mayor must collect 3,000 valid signatures from Boston voters to make the ballot.

REPORTER STAFF