US Congressman Stephen Lynch, a South Boston Democrat in office since 2001, is making a bid for another two-year term. “I’ve already got two opponents,” Lynch said this week while leaving an event announcing the designation of the Lower Neponset River as a Superfund site, unlocking money and resources for a cleanup of contaminants. “We’re off and running again.”

Two people have pulled nomination papers to run against Lynch, who represents the eastern half of Dorchester in a Congressional district that stretches down to Quincy and Brockton. (Ayanna Pressley, a former Dorchester resident who now lives in Hyde Park, who is also running for reelection, represents the other half.)

Lynch’s two opponents are Hamilton Soares Rodrigues, a Republican, and Derek Smith, who is unenrolled. Candidates for Congress must gather 2,000 signatures on their nomination forms for the federal office.

“You take every challenge seriously, you’ve got to stay connected,” said Lynch.

Asked about the rumor in local political circles that President Biden may tap him as postmaster general, Lynch said, “I know they keep saying that.”

Lynch has previously clashed with the current postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, as the Postal Service saw delivery delays and efforts to cut costs under the Trump administration. 

The son of a postal employee, Lynch asked DeJoy during a Congressional hearing in August 2020: “How can one person screw this up in just a few weeks?”

Lynch has since softened his criticism, noting that DeJoy worked with the Biden administration and Congress to get a postal reform bill to Biden’s desk with bipartisan support. The legislation, which awaits Biden’s signature, would require Postal Service retirees to enroll in Medicare and eliminate a requirement for the service to pre-fund retiree health benefits.

“He worked with us in Congress and worked with the administration to get that done,” Lynch told the Reporter on Monday. “So, I think he may have turned a corner, so to speak, and he may stay there. I wouldn’t recommend any changes. As long as he’s rowing in the same direction, I don’t see a reason to get rid of him.”

Pressed on whether he would be interested in the postmaster job, Lynch said, “It’s not there. It’s not there.”

SEIU Local 888 backs Liss-Riordan
Shannon Liss-Riordan, the labor attorney running for state attorney general, continues to rack up union support. On Tuesday, her campaign rolled out the support of SEIU Local 888, which represents 8,000 state, municipal, and education workers in Massachusetts.

“Shannon Liss-Riordan’s dedication to fighting for civil rights, holding corporations accountable, and protecting workers makes her the strongest candidate for Attorney General, and our choice for the job,” Tom McKeever, SEIU Local 888’s president, said in a statement. The union is based in Braintree.

In her own statement, Liss-Riordan, a Brookline resident, noted that the union’s members have been “on the frontlines of this pandemic, caring for our veterans, taking care of seniors , and ensuring that critical government services continued to function at such a difficult time.”

Twenty-six other unions have endorsed the labor attorney, including Dorchester-based Plumbers and Gasfitters Local 12, Sheet Metal Workers Local 17, Plasterers and Cement Masons Local 534, and Pipefitters Local 537; and Teamsters Local 122, OPEIU Local 453, and Ironworkers Local 7, all of South Boston.

Two other candidates are running for attorney general, an open race due to Maura Healey, the current attorney general, running for governor. They are Andrea Campbell, a former legal aide to Gov. Deval Patrick who represented Dorchester and Mattapan on the City Council between 2016 and 2021, and Quentin Palfrey, a voting rights lawyer who ran for lieutenant governor in 2018.

Campbell was endorsed by US Sen. Ed Markey earlier this month.

The winner of September’s primary is expected to face off against Republican attorney Jay McMahon of Cape Cod, who challenged Healey in 2018. 

Warren backs Arroyo in his bid for DA post
US Sen. Elizabeth Warren lent her endorsement to Hyde Park Councillor Ricardo Arroyo’s bid for Suffolk County district attorney, calling the two-term elected official an “experienced and compassionate public servant.”

Arroyo, who does not have to give up his council seat for the race, is facing off against Kevin Hayden, a Roslindale Democrat who is running for a full term after he was appointed as interim DA by Gov. Baker. Hayden is filling a vacancy created by Rachael Rollins leaving as Biden’s pick for the federal post of US attorney for Massachusetts.