Josh Kraft’s claim that he will “recuse” himself as Boston mayor from negotiations on his family’s proposed soccer stadium in Everett raises questions about where his loyalties lie and hands Michelle Wu a major campaign issue.

Kraft’s recusal from a project with a major impact on traffic and parking in Charlestown gave Wu instant fodder for an attack on whether Kraft will truly represent his constituents or his family in the stadium deal.

“Our role here is to ensure that Boston residents will get a fair deal,” Wu said on Tuesday just hours after Kraft, son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, officially launched his mayoral challenge.

“This is a mega project that has serious impacts and creates serious opportunities that we look forward to trying to harness. But there has to be a real conversation at the table about what this means for the city.”

Wu rejected the Kraft Group’s initial offer of $750,000 for mitigation as woefully inadequate, noting the city received $68 million in mitigation for a casino in Everett.

“We are going to continue to engage and look to secure a fair agreement for our residents representing the impacts this will have on our city,” the incumbent mayor said.

Josh Kraft’s response to the Everett soccer stadium plan — which came during a scrum with reporters after his announcement – appeared poorly thought out and did nothing to douse the issue, which no doubt will show up eventually in a Wu campaign ad.

His recusal raises a number of questions:

How can a mayor possibly “recuse” himself from such a major development project anyway? Will his entire administration – including his transportation team, economic development team, and legal team, all recuse themselves too?

Does his recusal confirm that he has a clear conflict of interest in the stadium project?

Kraft also called for a “pause” on Wu’s push to renovate White Stadium in Franklin Park for a women’s professional soccer team. Does that also represent a conflict of interest because the newly developed White Stadium will compete with the soccer stadium in Everett?

Will Kraft release his financial disclosures and tax returns, which could show whether he has a direct or indirect stake in his family’s for-profit ventures like the Everett soccer stadium?

Wu no doubt will continue to press Kraft for his financials and seek to make his wealth an issue.

She already is raising questions about whether Kraft has longstanding ties to the city, noting he lived and voted in Chestnut Hill for decades before moving to Boston’s North End two years ago.

Kraft needs to address Wu’s “carpetbagger” claims before it defines him as an outsider. Wu herself grew up in Chicago but has long represented Boston as a City Hall aide, a city councilor and mayor.

Kraft for many years led the Boys and Girls Club of Boston and has pointed to his decades of experience in the city working to raise up youth.

Mayor Michelle Wu speaks to seniors during a visit to the Grove Hall Community Center, Wednesday. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)