STAMFORD — A Connecticut city's legislative body has removed gender pronouns from its written rules.

The Advocate reports that Stamford's Board of Representatives voted last week to remove "he/she" and "his/her" from its rules of order, replacing them with specific titles, including president and clerk.

The change was proposed by three Democrats elected to the 40-member board in November, including Raven Matherne, the state's first openly transgender elected official.

The measure passed unanimously with one abstention.

Matherne says the move does not change the way the rules are followed but is "an act to acknowledge the members of this board, just as in each of our districts and the city at large, cannot always be described as he or she."

Stamford is the state's third most populous city without about 130,000 residents.