Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn said he does not plan to run for mayor in 2025, dismissing speculation that his higher political visibility of late is indicative of his plans to seek higher office.
Flynn’s remarks came after a Friday luncheon he attended in the North End, where he broke bread with three restaurant owners suing the city and Mayor Michelle Wu over what they perceive as a discriminatory and unfair outdoor dining ban.
When asked by a reporter whether his visit was indicative of his plan to run for mayor, Flynn said “no” and that he’s been coming to that neighborhood his entire life, with his wife, mother and father, Ray Flynn, a former Boston mayor — he’d visit even if he wasn’t in politics, he said, noting that he loves the Italian culture.
“I love the City Council,” Flynn said. “I love my job.”
Noting that he’s serving his fourth term and coming off a stint last term as Council president, the U.S. Navy veteran and district representative for South Boston, downtown, the South End, Bay Village and Chinatown, said, “I’m happy with what I’m doing now.”
“I’m just focused on my job and doing the best I can — showing up every day, going to work providing the best leadership I can for my district in the city,” Flynn, a rare moderate voice on the City Council, said. “I’m going to continue doing that whether I’m in government or outside of government.”
A potential mayoral field for 2025 has not yet taken shape, although Wu, a progressive Democrat who has a campaign war chest of roughly $1.4 million, has already stated that it is “very likely” she will seek a second term.
Flynn’s campaign coffers are sizable as well, at nearly $700,000, despite his repeated denials when asked whether he is planning a run for mayor. By comparison, the Council president, Ruthzee Louijeune, has roughly $55,000 cash on hand, according to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
