Tim Schofield. Photo: Marilyn Humphries

As soon as we got wind of the news this morning that District 9 Boston City Councilor Jerry McDermott wouldn’t be running for re-election to the Allston-Brighton district seat this fall, we rang up Tim Schofield, an openly gay Brighton man who’s been eyeing another run for political office since losing a squeaker special election for the 18th Suffolk House seat to Mike Moran back in 2005. Sure enough, when we caught up with Schofield on his cell phone this morning, he confirmed that he was already on his way to pick up nomination papers. “I’m going to the election department this morning,” said Schofield as he gassed up his car at the Allston Hess.

Schofield, an attorney who founded his own small firm, said he’s well-positioned in what will likely be a crowded field of candidates to replace McDermott, one of the more socially conservative councilors (he signed VoteOnMarriage’s anti-gay marriage petition back in 2005). “I’ve been working very hard for the last several years in the community,” he said, noting his position as co-chair of this year’s Brighton-Allston Bicentennial, a year-long neighborhood birthday bash, and his membership on the Boston College Task Force. “I feel like that combined with having run a couple years ago, obviously my campaign legs are fresh.”

Schofield is the second openly gay candidate to announce a City Council bid. But while Michael Cote of Dorchester is running a long-shot campaign to unseat City Council President Maureen Feeney in District 3, Schofield’s campaign represents a more viable chance to elect just the second openly gay city councilor in Boston’s history (David Scondras, who served for 10 years beginning in 1984, was the pioneer). But while he notes it’d be “an important milestone,” it’s not something Schofield feels the need to emphasize. “I think generally I’m running to represent everybody in Allston-Brighton … and certainly being gay is a fact but it doesn’t define me and certainly wouldn’t define how I serve the people of Allston-Brighton if I’m lucky enough to get elected.”