The Lowell Sun is reporting that longtime Greater-Lowell Area State Senator Susan Fargo – Democrat of Lincoln –  plans to retire and not run for reelection to her Third Middlesex District seat. The district includes the local community of Chelmsford as well as Bedford, Carlisle, Concord, Lexington – Pcts. 3, 8, 9, Lincoln, Sudbury – Pcts. 1, 4, Weston and the city of Waltham.

As Chris Camire of the Sun reports about Fargo:

“I’ve had a wonderful time,” said Fargo, 69. “It will have been 16 years, and I think that’s a goodly amount of time to stay in one office. Perhaps it’s time to let someone else enjoy this teriffic job.”

Fargo is a former public school teacher and editor of the Lincoln Journal. She is also a former Lincoln selectman.

Former State Senator Michael Barrett – now of Lexington – has already thrown his hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination in the Third Middlesex. He spoke before the January meeting of Greater Lowell Area Democrats. Stay tuned.