Edwards Makes Official Announcement for Senate Race

Boston City Councillor Lydia Edwards announced her candidacy for the First Suffolk and Middlesex State Senate seat Sunday morning at Ingleside Park.

A large group of supporters, including well-known community leader Donna Segreti Reilly, attended the event.

Former Town Councillor Richard Gill, who has lived in Winthrop since March, 1969, introduced Edwards, an attorney, for her announcement.

“I am comfortable, in fact, enthusiastic, about supporting Lydia Edwards to be our next state senator,” said Gill.

Gill said a friend, who has worked closely with Edwards, told him that, “Lydia has a lot of guts. She will go to the mat for the district.”

Gill said what he and Winthrop residents want in their next state senator is, “someone with vision and a passion for the district and beyond, someone with a proven record of openness, and an ability to collaborate, someone in short who will listen – and it’s now my great privilege to introduce to you our next state senator, Lydia Edwards.”

“My name is Lydia Edwards and today I am officially launching my campaign,” said Edwards. “I am running to be not only the next state senator, but I want to acknowledge Winthrop, you and the town and the community have had excellent advocates at the State House, Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo, and Sen. Joseph Boncore, and I cannot imagine that when you look at this moment, you’re thinking, ‘well, who’s going to fight for us?’

“They live here and the people running [for State Senate] don’t – so how will they care for us.

“I want you to know my entire life I’ve had people not like me, not where I lived – because I moved all over the world, be part of my life and help me become the woman I am. Geography doesn’t define my heart or my fight. You will have an advocate in me at the State House.”

Edwards said her mother served in the military and when she retired, she worked two full-time jobs and had a part-time job on the weekends. “My sister and I had jobs as well. We would pull our money together to pay the rent.”

Edwards said she was a record-breaking discus performer in track and field and an MVP of the basketball team, “but my mother never saw any of my games because she was working second shift.”

Edwards said she will be running a grassroots campaign for the position. “Meeting you where you are and answering your question is the grassroots kind of campaign that I want to run. I want to be very clear. The best thing is to be held accountable by everyday people and meeting them where they are.”

Edwards said she pushed back at Suffolk Downs “and made sure that we actually created a policy that was environmentally just. We shut down the extra highway lane that they wanted to put in. We think big and we get it done in my office.”

Edwards said her supporters come from all backgrounds and jobs.

She noted that Dec. 14 may not be the most ideal date for a special election.

“We’re going to need you to put our signs up, hand out our literature, and I’m proud to announce that by next weekend, we’re opening up our Winthrop office, “said Edwards. “We can do this, person-to-person. We’ll do what it takes. I want you to really want this voice to be your voice in the State Senate.”