Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 43, § 59 (2026)

City council; number; election; tenure

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 59. The legislative powers of the city shall be vested in a city council. One of its members shall be elected by the council annually as its president. In cities having more than seven wards, the city council shall be composed of fifteen members, of whom one shall be elected from each ward by and from the qualified voters of that ward, and the remaining members shall be elected by and from the qualified voters of the city. In cities having seven wards or less, the city council shall be composed of eleven members, of whom one shall be elected from each ward by and from the qualified voters of that ward, and the remaining members shall be elected by and from the qualified voters of the city.

At the first regular municipal election held in a city after its adoption of Plan B, except as otherwise provided in this section, the councillors elected from each ward shall be elected to serve for one year, and those elected at large shall be elected to serve for two years, from the first Monday in January following their election and until their successors are qualified; and at each regular municipal election thereafter the councillors elected to fill vacancies caused by the expiration of the terms of councillors shall be elected to serve for two years.

If the plan adopted provides for elections to be held biennially, at the first regular municipal election held under the provisions of such plan and at each biennial election thereafter, all the councillors whether elected at large or by wards shall be elected to serve for two years from the first day of January following their election and until their successors are qualified.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 3 cases, 1973–1996 · leading case: McSweeney v. City of Cambridge, 665 N.E.2d 11 (Mass. 1996).

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McSweeney v. City of Cambridge, 665 N.E.2d 11 (Mass. 1996). “) (Plan A), and the division of the city into wards with the candidate receiving the largest number of votes from the voters in each ward being elected, G. L. c. 43, § 59 (1994 ed.) (Plan B). There are several variations available on each of these methods of selecting the…”

Mayor of New Bedford v. City Council, 13 Mass. App. Ct. 251 (Mass. App. Ct. 1982). “The legislative powers of the city of New Bedford are vested in the city council (G. L. c. 43, § 59). In some charters there is a specific grant to the legislative department of the city to “appoint such assistant clerks and other officers as may be necessary for the proper…”

Greco v. Mayor of Revere, 1 Mass. App. Ct. 135 (Mass. App. Ct. 1973). “” We rely on the case cited (at 135) to substantiate the fact, agreed to in the briefs but nowhere evident from the record, that Revere has a Plan B form of government under G. L. c. 43, §§ 56-63.”

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