During her time at Harvard College, Wu initiated a long-distance romance with Conor Pewarski, whom she was introduced to by mutual friends during a Harvard-Yale football game party that she hosted. Notably, Pewarski was a student at Yale. The romantic journey between them reached a milestone when Pewarski proposed to Wu on December 7, 2011, at Cambridge Common. Their commitment culminated in marriage on September 8, 2012.
During her tenure on the Boston City Council, Wu authored and successfully implemented several ordinances. Notable among them was an ordinance preventing the city from contracting with health insurers that discriminate against transgender individuals. Additionally, she championed ordinances aimed at protecting wetlands, addressing climate change, implementing a plastic bag ban, adopting Community Choice Aggregation, and providing paid parental leave to municipal employees. Wu played a crucial role in the successful regulation of short-term rentals.
As mayor, Wu has continued to pursue her progressive agenda. She championed a municipal “Green New Deal,” signing an ordinance to divest city investments from companies deriving over 15 percent of their revenue from fossil fuels, tobacco products, or prison facilities. Her commitment to education is evident in plans to allocate $2 billion for school construction projects as part of a “Green New Deal” for public schools. Wu has also taken action on affordable housing and COVID-19 policies, including funding a two-year fare-free service on three MBTA bus routes to support fare-free public transportation.
Known as a political progressive, Michelle Wu is recognized as a protégée of Elizabeth Warren, whom she worked with during Warren’s 2012 United States Senate campaign. Wu’s personal experiences, such as being the first Boston City Council member to give birth while in office in December 2014, have driven her advocacy. Her struggles with Boston’s lack of paid child leave led to the successful implementation of an ordinance establishing such a policy. Wu’s dedication is further reflected in her bringing her newborn sons to City Council meetings after both of her pregnancies.
