Walsh also said he would be eligible to run for re-election next year, regardless of the status of his appeal, because the statute only applies to the current term.

Judge Lynch's ruling bars Walsh from serving "for any remaining portion of the term to which he was elected in November, 1993."

Walsh, who has been the Council's strongest opponent of rent control, said he is sorry to leave the council at the height of debate on the issue.

"I was very honored to be there when rent control fell," Walsh said. "But I would obviously have liked to be there to finish it. That was the only thing I wanted to do."

Walsh said he may be seen around City Hall in the near future.

"I may well attend council meetings as an observer," he said.

City solicitor Russell B. Higley, who stated his opinion last March that Walsh would be removed when sentenced to prison, said he was not surprised by the judge's ruling.

"The court's opinion was the same thing that we've all said all along," Higley said.

Other councillors did not seem surprised, either.

Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 said, "We knew it was a matter of time [before he was removed], and the time is here."

"It is a dark day in Cambridge when a councillor can't serve because of a conviction and sentence," Reeves said. "you have to feel compassion for the man."

Councillor Francis H. Duehay '55 said he didn't understand why Walsh tried to remain on the council after his sentencing.

"The law was very clear," Duehay said. "The statute speaks for itself."

Councilor Michael A. Sullivan said Walsh's voice will be missed in council debates