WESTERLY — The Town Council president and her counterpart on the School Committee are not running for reelection, and one council member who had said he was finished with local politics will run again.

The dust is just beginning to settle after Wednesday’s deadline for filing candidacy declarations.

Council President Mary Jane DiMaio isn’t on the list of candidates.

“I have made the decision to retire to let others get a chance at serving their community,” she said yesterday, noting that she had served two years on the School Committee and 12 years on the council, the last two after becoming Westerly’s first female Town Council president.

Although she confessed to having pangs of regret now that a political season was starting without her, “I’m not up for campaigns anymore.”

She said she was proud of the council members with whom she has served and how much they accomplished by working together.

One of her goals, to enact impact fees, finally came to a vote, she said, but “it went against me.” At least the matter was discussed and voted on, she said. “I can lay that to rest in my mind.”

She wanted a municipal land trust and got it, she said, and in the 14 or so council meetings left in her term she’ll continue pushing for public rights of way.

Seven Democrats and six Republicans are running for the Town Council’s seven seats. Incumbents seeking reelection include Democrat Diana Avedesian and Republicans Christopher A. Duhamel and Caswell Cooke Jr., the council vice president.

Council member Daryl J. Finizio left in May to pursue a doctoral degree at Northeastern University; Michelle A. Buck decided, “regretfully,” not to run so she could focus more on her law practice, and Democrat Samuel A. Azzinaro opted to run against Republican George W. Markham for the House District 37 seat being vacated by Peter L. Lewiss.

On May 1 Cooke announced he would run against Lewiss, and then a week later abandoned the bid after bloggers on the Westerly Sun Web site threatened to “drag my family” into “the politics of personal attack.” He said he was finished with local politics but would serve out his term on the council.

When Lewiss announced he was stepping down, Markham decided to seek that office and Cooke, leader of the Republican Town Committee, changed his mind about the council.

Yesterday he explained why. “I was disillusioned at the time with the way everything went down … with people being kind of cruel.”

Then he said, “I’ve probably received 35 letters, 50 e-mails, 50 phone calls, roughly,” from people encouraging him to run. “I get stopped at the post office and grocery store,” he said.

“The people of Westerly changed my mind.”

School Committee Chairwoman Nancy Burns-Fusaro said the reason she’s not running again after eight years is her grandson lives two hours away, in New Hampshire. “He’s 3,” she said. “He’s at that age when we like to play together. It’s the greatest thing in the world.”

Another reason, she said: “It’s harder and harder to work at a newspaper and hold public office.” She is a Westerly Sun columnist and editor.

“Also, when you step down other people step forward, and there are wonderful people running.”

Although the School Committee terms are staggered so that three or four of the seven seats are filled every two years, the Nov. 4 election will fill five School Committee seats because of two resignations.

Three Republicans, five Democrats and one independent are running. The top four vote-getters will begin four-year terms that will end in 2012. The fifth-highest vote-getter will begin a two-year term that expires in 2010.