Ex-convict Dianne Wilkerson emerges as political force and Michelle Wu nemesis

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu now has an unlikely nemesis – former state Senator and ex-convict Dianne Wilkerson, who has emerged as a political force and no-holds-barred critic of the Wu administration.

Wilkerson, who pleaded guilty to eight felony counts of taking $23,500 in bribes in 2010, has been posting on social media and sending media emails blasting Wu on everything from co-opting Juneteenth for political purposes to the White Stadium project to the city’s redesign plan for Blue Hill Avenue.

Wilkerson, who ran for her old seat in 2022, is trying to mobilize Boston’s Black community in what could be an attempt to put together a powerful voting bloc in a future election. So she is a threat to Wu and has the potential to embarrass her nationally.

Wilkerson says she is “absolutely not” interested in running for political office again but is motivated to speak up for her community in Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan, which she says has been ignored by Wu.

“I am in a place where I can say what I want and need to say without fear of retribution, which has become a hallmark of her mayoralty and quieted so many people,” Wilkerson said in an interview. “I don’t have a contract. I don’t need a contract.”

Wu’s administration has tried to marginalize Wilkerson by pointing out her extortion conviction and questioning whether residents really listen to her. Wilkerson became infamous nationally because of the feds’ picture of her stuffing the bribes into her bra.

But Wilkerson said she will not go away and won’t change her hard-charging style of confronting Wu. And because of Wilkerson’s credibility in the Black community, she represents more of a threat to Wu than Councilor Ed Flynn, who is routinely ignored by Wu.

“It’s not about throwing bombs for me,” she said. “If I don’t feel Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan are getting their due I will say something.”

Wilkerson’s chief complaint is something Wu critics often point to –  the mayor’s seeming inability to listen to opposing views and meet with residents like those affected by the White Stadium project in Franklin Park.

“When you called (former Mayor) Marty Walsh he called me back,” she said. “This woman does not do that. If you criticize anything she does you become the enemy. It’s scorched earth.”

Wilkerson, now 71, said she’s been working with Boston mayors since Ray Flynn in the 1980’s and her criticisms are not personal.

“I just deal with facts and that’s what’s driving the Wu cabal so crazy,” she said.

Wilkerson and others most recently appealed to the Trump administration to stop Wu’s plan to turn Blue Hill Avenue into a one-lane street by creating a center lane for buses only. They asked the Trump Department of Transportation to withdraw $80 million in funding for the project.

Wilkerson said she went to the Trump administration to “protect” the Black community – months after Wu said she would protect the city from Trump.

“I am extremely well aware I have an enormous amount of respect from people within this community so it’s driving them nuts,” Wilkerson said. “I don’t have a contract with the city. I don’t want one. They can’t control me in a way they are threatening other people.”

Wilkerson’s latest complaint is about Juneteenth, which Wu and Gov. Maura Healey are turning into a political event in Franklin Park.

“I think it is beyond the height of insult for the mayor and governor to be inviting people to come to Franklin Park to celebrate Juneteenth in the park that you have refused to discuss with the community. What kind of chutzpah does that take?”