BOSTON—Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has apparently decided public office is best enjoyed with a touch of spectacle, after she jetted to Canada — ostensibly to cut down a Christmas tree — and transformed a modest civic gesture into a five-figure taxpayer-funded production worthy of its own glossy magazine spread, according to travel records first reported by the Boston Herald.
And yes, you absolutely read that correctly.
A Christmas tree.
City Hall initially insisted the outing cost a modest $5,062 — hardly enough to raise an eyebrow.
But then came the updated figures, and suddenly Boston found itself underwriting what could generously be described as a small traveling circus.
Wu takes the chainsaw herself as Halifax officials look on — the ceremonial tree-cutting that somehow sparked a five-figure taxpayer saga.
The true total: $13,365.
Quite a bit of money for a bit of festive shrubbery.
Wu did not, shall we say, travel light.
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She arrived in Halifax with her husband, her three children, three City Hall aides, and — in a flourish more befitting a foreign minister than a big-city mayor — a two-officer Boston Police security detail whose out-of-state travel costs alone soared past $6,000. One imagines they were protecting her from rogue pine needles.
But what truly sent observers clutching their pearls was the setting.
Wu and her family stayed in a waterfront hotel so glowingly reviewed, you’d think Halifax had been hiding the Riviera all along. Travelers gush about “stunning harbor views,” “immaculate rooms,” and a “resort-like atmosphere” so serene you half expect a masseuse to materialize at check-in offering herbal tea and life advice.
Frankly, who wouldn’t want to stay there?
The difference, of course, is that most people pay for their own holidays.
A stay at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront comes with front-row seats to the city’s most spectacular sunsets.
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Floor-to-ceiling windows offer sweeping views of Halifax Harbour as guests dine in the Marriott’s elegant waterfront ballroom.
The hotel’s indoor pool offers guests a tranquil escape, complete with soft lighting, poolside seating and a calm, spa-like atmosphere.
The supporting cast in this cross-border extravaganza played their roles with dramatic flair. Interim Parks Commissioner Cathy Baker-Eclipse contributed more than her share to the bill.
Photographer Paul Bologna and scheduler Phyllis St-Hubert also managed to outpace the mayor, proving that if you’re going to tag along for a ceremonial tree-cutting, you may as well make a weekend of it.
City officials insist the trip honored Boston’s century-old friendship with Halifax. All very noble. But Wu is the first Boston mayor in history to treat the tree-cutting ceremony like a state visit requiring its own entourage, logistical footprint, and apparent sense of occasion.
The Christmas tree itself, naturally, was free.
Everything orbiting it — from the entourage to the stunning waterfront hotel to the security detail — absolutely wasn’t.
And now the tree waits on Boston Common, ready for its annual glow-up — even as many Bostonians are left wondering who the $13,000 show was really staged for: the city, the cameras, or the mayor’s travel scrapbook.
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