This year, there may be deja vu in reverse -- L'Italien vs. Lyons.

Former State Rep. Barbara L'Italien has filed nomination papers to run for her former seat representing the Essex 18th district, which currently includes parts of North Andover, Haverhill, Andover, Boxford, Georgetown and Methuen. Next year, with redistricting, the district will lose Haverhill and Methuen and pick up a section of Tewksbury currently represented by state Rep. Paul Adams, R-Adams. Adams is mounting a run for State Senate.

No other Democrats or Republicans have launched campaigns to run for the 18th Essex seat. L'Italien confirmed that she has taken out nomination papers but said she is still gathering signatures and an official campaign announcement is premature.

L'Italien, who now works as State Treasurer Steve Grossman's director of government affairs, represented the district for four terms before being defeated by Republican Jim Lyons in 2010. Lyons won 53 percent of the vote district-wide.

In North Andover, the gap was wider, with L'Italien receiving less than 42 percent of the vote while Lyons raked in about 59 percent.

The treasurer's office does not allow employees to campaign for office, so if she does run, L'Italien will have to resign from her job or take a leave of absence.

If L'Italien runs and wins, she'll have to take a pay cut. She currently makes about $100,000 a year in her treasury job and made about $75,000 a year as a state representative.