In first major business speech as acting mayor, Janey emphasizes diversity, recovery from COVID

In what was billed as her first significant speech to Boston’s business community, Acting Mayor Kim Janey on Wednesday steered clear of any controversy while focusing on spreading the wealth of city contracts to diverse small businesses and helping address the city’s labor and housing shortages.

Janey is competing with five other rivals — including several of her city council peers — for the mayor’s seat this fall, and no candidate has yet emerged as a clear favorite of the city’s business community.

That makes appearances at events such as the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce government affairs forum, held virtually on Wednesday, all the more important for Janey’s political prospects. It’s a high-profile venue, even if many of the 200 or so people who watched don’t actually live in the city. While this was her largest business audience since taking over for Mayor-turned-Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh in March, it most likely won’t…

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