Walsh highlights housing, jobs, and veterans' homelessness in campaign kickoff

When Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh came to 92-year-old Joe Cappuccio’s home last summer to check out the new boilers the city had installed, Cappuccio was astonished and proud — and took the opportunity to give his own speech to a politician he figured was there to listen.

“He’s for the regular people, not for the downtown, high-rise stuff,” said Cappuccio on Saturday, shaded from the sun by a bucket hat as he stood outside at Florian Hall, where Walsh officially kicked off his reelection campaign before a crowd of several hundred people.

In his quest for a second term, Walsh is facing opponent City Councilor Tito Jackson, who has criticized the mayor for failing to reduce economic inequality and crime, and pledged to invest in schools. Walsh has a 31-point lead over Jackson, according to a recent Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll.

Two other candidates — Joseph Wiley and Robert Cappucci — collected enough signatures to appear on the ballot, but they trail Walsh and Jackson in fund-raising and polls.

Read more: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/07/23/walsh-highlights-housing-jobs-and-veterans-homelessness-campaign-kickoff/BcGUUfoA8ivhoW2YQCFTcM/story.html