WESTBROOK – Westbrook City Council President Brendan Rielly said today that if U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree decides to run for the U.S. Senate seat vacated last week by Sen. Olympia Snowe, he may pull papers to run for the first Congressional district.

“I am considering it,” Rielly said.

Rielly, who has three children, two of which are still in school, said he has been approached in the past to run for Senate and governor, but always turned them down.

“The timing’s never been right for my family, and for me as a candidate,” he said.

But serving a higher office of some kind, Rielly said, has been on his radar for some time.

“It’s a job I’ve always been interested in,” he said.

Even now, Rielly said concerns about splitting his time between family and serving in Washington will be a factor in his decision.

“I am concerned about how much time would be taken up, were I fortunate enough to win,” he said.

One thing he knows for sure, Rielly said, is that he won’t run against Pingree if she opts out of the senate race and runs for reelection to the U.S. House.

“If Chellie’s running for reelection, then I would not run,” he said.

Rielly has served on the council for the past 11 years, and has been council president for the past seven.