Westport Select Board member Steven Ouellette has pulled nomination papers in his bid to take over the seat of Eighth District Representative Paul Schmid III, who announced last week that he will not seek re-election to an eighth two-year term.

Ouellette, a friend of Schmid’s, said the representative told him a few weeks ago that he wouldn’t be running again. After getting the news, Ouellette said he thought he should throw his hat in the ring, as both share many of the same concerns and moderate Democratic platform.

“And of course I am concerned with having strong Westport representation in Boston,” Ouellette said Thursday.

Schmid, who served seven terms since first being elected to the state House of Representatives in 2010, said late last week that he moves on with gratitude for the time he spent in public service.

Writing of the great honor it has been to serve Westport and other communities during his time in office, he said he has many to thank, not the least of what are his wife Tina and children Celeste and Paul, and their families. He also said it has been an honor to serve the South Coast with a delegation that he believes is second to none.

“I want to thank everyone who has had confidence in me,” he wrote. “Many say the Southcoast delegation is the best and I have been honored to work with each member.”

“I will cherish the knowledge that I was, for a time, part of the longest-serving democratic body in the world.”