Boston City Councilor Maureen Feeney, of Dorchester, formally resigned about two months before the official end of her term in office.
Feeney announced that she would not seek re-election in April after serving as a councilor for almost 20 years. She was supposed to remain on the council until January before her decision to resign.
City Council acknowledged her resignation, after submitting her resignation letter on Nov. 10., at a meeting on Wednesday.
Frank Baker, a lifelong resident of Dorchester, won the open seat for District 3 with about 55 percent of the vote over candidate John O’Toole. He will take office in January.
Feeney was elected to City Council in 1993 . She has served as vice president and chair of committees including Government Operations, City & Neighborhood Services, Housing and Health and Human Services.
In 2007 and 2008, she became Council President, which made her both the second woman to serve as president and the longest-serving female president.
Feeney helped merge university and city hospitals, overseeing the legislation that created the Boston Medical Center, according to the official City of Boston website.
The charity Friends for Children also honored Feeney as Woman of the Year in 2000, and she was elected to the Democratic State Committee in 2002.
Feeney’s resignation could be a sign that she is planning to take the City Clerk position, which City Clerk Rosaria Salerno said she will retire from in February.
Due to state law, Feeney must be out of office for 30 days in order to be appointed City Clerk, a position that will increase her salary from $87,500 per year to $102,000 per year.
Some of Feeney’s colleagues said they were surprised that she is leaving the council about two months early.
Councilor At-Large Ayanna Pressley said the council knew about her decision not to run for re-election for a while, but they “have not adjusted to the idea of her leaving since she has been able to represent the constituents of District 3 for almost 20 years.”
“She leaves very big shoes to fill, and we miss her in the chamber,” Pressley said in an interview with the Daily Free Press. “But as an at-large councilor who calls Dorchester my home, right now is really about supporting her staff and making sure the constituent needs of residents of District 3 are met during this period of transition.”
Councilor Tito Jackson, of Roxbury, said he was unaware of her resignation, but now the council must ensure that the district is represented.
“She was pivotal in all relationships with the councilors because most aspects of our jobs had some connection to her,” Jackson said. “With the District 3 staff and Frank [Baker] serving in a month, the at-large councilors are amazing to work across the city as a whole.”
