BOSTON — Michelle Wu ran for mayor as a progressive crusader — anti-landlord, anti-dark money, anti-right-wing.

But her rise? Fueled by one of the most powerful Republican landlords in America — a man who once used a racial slur during a U.S. Senate campaign, then helped her buy her house and bankroll her political career, according to documents and historical reporting reviewed by Mass Daily News.

Meet Terry Considine — The GOP Billionaire Behind Wu’s Rise

Terry Considine isn’t just a Republican. He’s a Trump-aligned real estate magnate, a former U.S. Senate candidate, and a co-founder of Club for Growth — a national conservative Super PAC known for targeting Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans alike.

He made his fortune acquiring thousands of apartments — including in Boston — and poured millions into right-wing causes. His daughter, Elizabeth Likovich, is one of Michelle Wu’s closest friends. In fact, she helped Wu buy her first home.

The House the GOP Built

In 2015, Michelle Wu and her husband Conor Pewarski bought a two-family home in Roslindale. But they didn’t do it alone.

Property records show they co-purchased it with Likovich and her husband Edward. All four signed the mortgage. The Likovichs held a majority 54% stake in the property.

At the time, Wu had more than $110,000 in student and car loan debt. A year later, Wu and her husband bought out the Likovichs for $110,448 — nearly the same amount.

This wasn’t just a college friend doing a favor. It was the daughter of a national GOP powerbroker co-investing in the future mayor’s first home.

Wu’s Husband Linked to Considine Real Estate Company

Records show that in 2015, Wu’s husband, Conor Pewarski, served as the Massachusetts resident agent for 17 Athens Street LLC — a limited liability company tied to the Considine family. The LLC owns a $2.8 million triple-decker in Cambridge.

The company’s listed mailing address? Terry Considine’s office in Denver, Colorado.

From 2013 to 2021, Pewarski was the legal point of contact in Massachusetts for a company connected to the same Republican donor who helped fund Wu’s first property.

The Slur That Won’t Go Away

In 1986, while running for U.S. Senate in Colorado, Considine referred to Mexican immigrants using the slur “wetbacks.” The comment was widely reported by national outlets, and though he later apologized, the remark followed him through his campaign.

That didn’t stop him from entering Wu’s orbit. Nor did it stop his family from donating to her political campaigns.

Between 2012 and 2021, state campaign finance records show that members of the Considine family contributed at least $8,500 to Michelle Wu.

Terry Considine’s public record also includes:

• Co-founding Club for Growth, the ultra-conservative Super PAC that spent over $150 million boosting Trump-backed candidates, attacking Joe Biden, and trying to unseat moderates like Liz Cheney
• Serving on the board of the Bradley Foundation, a major funder of ALEC, the Federalist Society, and groups that have pushed voter ID laws, anti-DEI initiatives, and conservative judicial appointments
• Endowing a Harvard Law School professorship in honor of Justice Antonin Scalia, the late Supreme Court justice who opposed abortion rights, affirmative action, and same-sex marriage

Wu Confronted — and Said Nothing

During a 2021 mayoral debate broadcast live on television, Wu’s opponent publicly asked her to disavow Considine’s support — explicitly referencing his use of a racial slur and calling him a “hate-monger.”

Wu declined to disavow him. She defended the legality of her home purchase but offered no comment on Considine’s political views or past remarks.

The Media Let It Slide

Some outlets reported on the arrangement — briefly — but the focus quickly shifted to technicalities about address records. The deeper story about political money, GOP ties, and Wu’s silence went mostly unexamined.

Wu never publicly clarified her position. She never disavowed the donor. And she never explained why a conservative billionaire’s daughter was helping her build equity.

The Progressive Mayor with a Conservative Backer

Michelle Wu built her brand standing up to landlords, railing against right-wing money, and championing racial equity.

But behind the scenes:

• She partnered with a Republican billionaire’s daughter to buy her home.
• Her husband served as legal contact for that billionaire’s real estate company.
• She accepted thousands in campaign donations from the same family.
• And when asked, on live TV, to distance herself from a donor with a history of racist remarks — she stayed silent.

Wu didn’t just benefit from the political machine she claimed to oppose. She leveraged it — and climbed all the way to City Hall.

The press didn’t ask.
Maybe voters should.

Mass Daily News reviewed property filings, state campaign records, and historical reporting from previous election cycles to support the details in this article.