LaMattina might run to fill Edwards's council term, but would vow to focus on constituent services and not run again

Sal LaMattina, who retired from the District 1 City Council seat that Lydia Edwards won in 2017, is talking to supporters about possibly running for the seat again after Edwards is elected to the State Senate next month.

If he does run, and wins the race to represent East Boston, the North End and Charlestown, LaMattina has told friends, he would not take a salary for the remainder of Edwards's two-year term and he would pledge not to run again in 2023.

LaMattina first elected in 2005, would also promise to concentrate on constituent-services issues. That would be a dramatic change from Edwards, who often also worked on citywide policy issues, from racial and socioeconomic bias in apartment rentals and new development to issues caused by property flippers to the way the city approves cannabis shops.

Tania del Rio, formerly executive director of the Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement and a BPS parent who, like LaMattina, lives in East Boston, announced her candidacy for the seat this week. Del Rio's platform includes an emphasis on "environmental justice" and improving BPS.

Once Edwards is elected on Jan. 11 - there is nobody running against her - the City Council would set a special election and, if needed, a special preliminary, to fill the remainder of Edwards's term.