Lydia Edwards
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
from the 1st Suffolk and Middlesex district
Assumed office
January 20, 2022
Preceded byJoseph Boncore
Member of the Boston City Council
from the 1st district
In office
January 2018 – April 2022
Preceded bySalvatore LaMattina
Succeeded byGabriela Coletta
Personal details
Born1981 (age 42–43)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationFordham University (BA)
American University (JD)
Boston University (LLM)

Lydia Marie Edwards[1] (born 1981)[2] is an American attorney and politician. She served as a member of the Boston City Council from the 1st district from 2018 to 2022 [3] and has served as a member of the Massachusetts Senate from the 1st Suffolk and Middlesex district since 2022. She resigned from the Boston City Council at the end of April 2022.[4]

Early life and education

She and her twin sister were raised by their mother who served in the United States Air Force. Edwards earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University, a Juris Doctor from the Washington College of Law, and a Master of Laws in taxation from Boston University School of Law.[5]

Career

Edwards has worked as a public interest attorney with Greater Boston Legal Services and served as the deputy director within the Mayor's Office of Housing Stability.[3]

Boston City Council

Edwards was elected to the Boston City Council in November 2017 and assumed office in January 2018. She represents the North End, East Boston, and Charlestown.[6]

In July 2018, Edwards along with fellow city councilors Kim Janey and Michelle Wu, introduced legislation to remove as-of-right designations for chain stores, thereby requiring a conditional use permit for chain stores to open and operate in any area designated as a "neighborhood business district".[7]

Edwards and fellow councilor Kim Janey proposed a real estate transfer tax. Negotiations with other city councilors reduced this to a 2% tax on properties valued at $2 million or more, a decrease from their original proposal of a 6% tax. In December 2019, the Boston City Council voted to adopt Janey and Edwards' home rule petition requesting that the state permit the city to impose such as tax. Mayor Marty Walsh advanced the home rule petition to the legislature. If the petition had been authorized by the state, revenue raised from the tax (predicted to be in excess of $160 million annually) was to be placed in the city's Neighborhood Housing Trust to build affordable housing.[8][9]

In 2021, Edwards led the effort to amend the City Charter provision relating to city budgets.[10] An ordinance for the city to hold a binding referendum on amending the city charter during its November 2021 municipal elections was passed by the city council. The amendment's changes included giving the City Council the power to line-item veto some of the items in a budget put forth by the mayor, amend a mayor's proposed budget both in whole and in part, and the ability to override a mayoral veto of a budget by a two-third's vote. These changes provide the City Council with more powering the creation of a budget. Another change in the amendment was creating an Office of Participatory Budgeting, giving the city's residents more power in the creation of city budgets.[11][12] In June 2021, Acting Mayor Kim Janey signed the ordinance.[11][12] Weeks later, State Attorney General Maura Healey cleared the referendum for inclusion on the ballot.[12] The referendum saw the amendment approved by voters, thereby amending the city charter.[10]

Edwards joined council members Michelle Wu and Matt O'Malley in a years-long push to have the city divest its financial resources from fossil fuels.[13] In November 2021, as mayor, Michelle Wu signed such an ordinance into law.[14]

Massachusetts State Senate

Edwards was a Democratic candidate in the 2016 special election for the First Suffolk & Middlesex District of the Massachusetts State Senate. She ran for the State Senate again in 2022.[15] She won the Democratic primary on December 15, 2021, defeating Revere School Committee member Anthony D'Ambrosio by a 60%–40% margin.[16] Edwards is the first woman and person of color to represent the senate district.[17]

Election results

2019

General election for Boston City Council District 1, 2019
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
nonpartisan Lydia Edwards 4,400 96.6%
nonpartisan write in 155 3.4%

2017

Candidates Preliminary Election General Election
Votes % Votes %
Lydia Edwards 3,547 45.95% 6,906 52.70%
Stephen Passacantilli 3,628 47.00% 6,182 47.17%
Margaret Farmer 522 6.76%
Write-in 22 0.29% 17 0.13%
Total 7,719 100 13,105 100

References

  1. ↑ Massachusetts Election Results
  2. ↑ A Rising Star:Lydia Edwards Ready to Lead as East Boston's City Councilor
  3. 1 2 "Lydia Edwards". City of Boston. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  4. ↑ "Now a state senator, Edwards' plans to leave Boston City Council are unclear". GBH News. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  5. ↑ LinkedIn Profile
  6. ↑ Dolorico, Maria (April 23, 2019). "Councilor Lydia Edwards Hires Maria Dolorico as Campaign Manager for Re-Election". North End Waterfront. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  7. ↑ "City Councilors Introduce Legislation to Limit Zoning for Chain Stores – NorthEndWaterfront.com". northendwaterfront.com. North End Waterfront. July 11, 2018. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  8. ↑ Betancourt, Sarah (11 December 2019). "Boston approves fee on real estate transactions". CommonWealth Magazine. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  9. ↑ Miller, Yawu (19 December 2019). "Mayor signs off on real estate transfer fee". The Bay State Banner. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  10. 1 2 Kuznitz, Alison (3 November 2021). "Boston Election 2021: Voters support Question 1 on new City Council budget process". masslive. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  11. 1 2 Mullings, Morgan C. (10 June 2021). "Janey signs off on changes to city charter". The Bay State Banner. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 "AG greenlights city budget ballot question". The Bay State Banner. 8 July 2021.
  13. ↑ Gavin, Christopher (November 22, 2021). "Mayor Wu signs landmark law standing against fossil fuel companies". Boston.com. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  14. ↑ Murphy, Matt (November 22, 2021). "Mayor Wu Signs Ordinance Divesting Boston From Fossil Fuel Profits". NBC Boston. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  15. ↑ Shuman, Cary (22 September 2021). "Edwards Announces Her Candidacy for State Senate | Revere Journal". The Revere Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  16. ↑ McCarthy, Mia (December 15, 2021). "Lydia Edwards claims victory in state Senate special election over Anthony D'Ambrosio". Boston.com. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  17. ↑ Shenoy, Rupa (January 14, 2022). "City Councilor Edwards wins Senate seat as 1st woman and 1st person of color to represent district". WBUR. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
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