In a hard choice between two qualified candidates she has known for many years, City Councilor Lydia Edwards said this week she was endorsing State Rep. Dan Ryan over Chelsea City Councilor Damali Vidot in the upcoming Sept. 1 Democratic Primary.
Edwards made the announcement in an op-ed to the newspaper, saying Ryan had a “cohesive vision” for Charlestown, and would be the better representative for the Town.
“I love that I can represent Charlestown, but I know no one better to be the Representative of Charlestown than Daniel Ryan,” she wrote in her op-ed. “Damali Vidot is an excellent city councilor and she navigates similar issues in Chelsea. I have known her for years, and before I was in politics. She is my friend and she inspires me. Her story and her fight is the story and fight of many kids in Charlestown. She will make an excellent state representative one day. But it’s Dan who I look to for the cohesive vision.”
She said Charlestown is at a critical point and needs a leader in the Town that knows the Town. She said no one has done that better than Ryan, which is why she endorsed him. Some of the issues she cited that needed his leadership included displacement of long-time residents, the re-development of Bunker Hill Housing Development, and the lack of space in the public schools for those in the neighborhood.
“We are where history meets the present and our roots and memories are long and our hearts and love of the Town and our children is great,” she wrote.
“It’s a joy to be his city councilor,” she continued. “It’s an even greater honor to endorse him.”
Ryan had pulled papers earlier in the year before COVID-19 and returned them to score his place on the ballot and to announce a re-election campaign. It appeared that he would have no candidate against him, but Councilor Vidot pulled her papers in the very last days and was able to get enough signatures through the enhanced COVID-19 rules to get on the ballot.
Both have been elected officials for a number of years now.