Just back from a short vacation and catching up. So Mayor Michelle Wu is up 30 percent over rival Josh Kraft, according to the latest Globe-Suffolk poll? No big surprise. Meanwhile, Gov. Maura Healey’s poll numbers are also rebounding to impressive levels, according to the Herald. That’s also no big surprise. … People seem generally happy with both the mayor and governor – and my hunch it’s partly due to the pragmatic side of their progressive outlooks.

Put it this way: do you hear widespread complaints about crime, potholes, snow plowing and other basic city services in Boston? Nope. Wu may be an annoying ideologue at times, but, as Jon Keller notes at Massterlist, she knows when to stop digging “when stuck in a ditch of her own making.” Ditto Healey, who knows when to cut ties to a fiscally reckless program that threatened both the state budget and her political future. … Whether a pol is on the left, right or in the middle, a little pragmatism goes a long way in politics.

Update – 7.24.25 – As Contrarian Boston notes, there are widespread complaints about crime in the Mass and Cass area of Boston. Wu has got to do something about this. 

Update II — 7.24.25 – From the Globe’s Joan Vennochi: “Josh Kraft is defining himself — the wrong way.”

Update III – 7.24.25 – A Hub Blog reader emails about “the big difference between Wu and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.” A 14 percent approval rating for Johnson? He’s since clawed his way back to 26 percent approval rating. … Fyi: San Francisco voters seem quite happy since ousting their own non-pragmatic mayor.