SOUTH PORTLAND — City Councilor Brad Fox said he plans to run as a Democrat next year for a seat in the Maine House of Representatives.

Fox, of Rollins Way, will seek the District 33 seat currently held by first-term Rep. Kevin J. Battle, R-South Portland.

Fox, 67, was elected to the City Council last November for a three-year term, which expires in 2017.

Fox on Wednesday said he recognizes that he would “have to decide whether to stay on the council or resign,” if he is elected to the House.

City Clerk Susan Mooney on Wednesday said an elected councilor can serve in the Legislature, “though we have not had anyone serve both those positions at the same time, that I am aware of.”

Nonetheless, Fox said he would assess the feasibility of doing both when next year’s campaign is closer at hand.

Running for state representative has been his goal for “a while,” Fox said. He said he has recently “been encouraged by people who want a strong Democratic candidate to run in District 33.”

Fox said he believes many issues he’s passionate about would be “better handled at the state level.”

During his first year as a councilor, Fox championed what eventually became the first workshop earlier this winter on establishing a fee for single-use shopping bags and a ban on polystyrene food packaging.

He also supports an increase in the minimum wage in the city, free public higher education, and continued access to temporary General Assistance for the the city’s immigrant population.

“Our district can’t afford to have a representative that isn’t always actively working in our best interests and voting for them,” Fox said. “I can and will work with fellow representatives to get important work done.”

Battle did not respond to inquiries on Wednesday.

In the 1990s, Fox served as assistant principal at Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California, and principal for the Solano County Office of Education, Juvenile Court and Community Schools in Fairfield, California.

Fox moved to South Portland nearly a decade ago with his ex-wife and two daughters, after spending summers in southern Maine for nearly 20 years.

“I love the place,” he said.

He is now a subsitute teacher for the South Portland School Department.

Alex Acquisto can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or aacquisto@theforecaster.net. Follow Alex on Twitter: @AcquistoA.

South Portland City Councilor Brad Fox plans to run next year for the House District 33 seat now held by Rep. Kevin Battle, R-South Portland.