Bill Linehan
William P. Linehan is a former member and President of the Boston City Council in Boston, Massachusetts. He represented District 2, which includes Downtown Boston, the South End, South Boston and Chinatown. Early life. Linehan was born in Boston and is the oldest of eight children. He has been active in politics since his teenage years. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Career. Before his election to the City Council, Linehan served as the Director of Operations for the City of Boston's Parks Department and later as the Special Assistant to the  Chief Operating Officer of the City of Boston for six years. Linehan was first elected to the City Council via a special election in May 2007, following the death of Councillor James M. Kelly. Linehan was re-elected five times, until announcing in February 2017 that he would not run in the November 2017 election. Linehan was president of the City Council in 2014 and 2015. In 2014, Linehan championed a proposal to rename South Boston's Branch Library for former Massachusetts Senate President William M. Bulger. Personal life. Linehan and his wife, Judy, have four children and six grandchildren