John R. Connolly


John Ronan Connolly is an American politician, former lawyer, and educator from Massachusetts. He is a former at-large Boston city councilor and candidate for mayor of Boston, Massachusetts. He was first elected in November 2007.

Early life & Family

He was born in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.
Connolly is a resident of West Roxbury where he lives with his wife, Meg,, and children, Clare, Teddy, and Mary Katherine. Meg is a psychologist and former social worker. His mother, Lynda Connolly recently retired as a Massachusetts court judge. His father, Michael J. Connolly, is a former Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

Education

During his high school years, Connolly attended Roxbury Latin School. After graduating he earned his B.A. cum laude from Harvard University and later earned his J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Career

From 1995 to 1998 he was a middle school teacher at the Nativity Mission School. In 1998 he taught at the Boston Renaissance Charter School.
From 2001 to 2007 he worked with the firms Ropes and Gray and Hanify & King P.C. He started his own law firm, Schofield Campbell & Connolly, with two other Boston residents.

Controversies

On November 3, 2007 Connolly's campaign for City Councilor At-Large admitted to mailing literature about incumbent councilor Stephen J. Murphy which until that point came from an unknown source. The acknowledgement came after a Boston Herald columnist accused the candidate of sending the unsigned, unattributed flyers.

Run for mayor

On February 26, 2013, Connolly announced he would stand in the 2013 mayoral election. Connolly finished the second of twelve in the preliminary election in September 2013, behind State Representative Marty Walsh. On November 5, 2013, he lost the general election to Marty Walsh.

Post-political career

Since July 2014 he has served as the executive director of 1647 Families.