William P. Linehan is an American politician who was a member and president of the Boston City Council in Massachusetts.

"[5][6] Linehan faced criticism a proposal he made in his role in chairing the post-2010 United States Census redistricting process to divide Chinatown between two separate City Council electoral districts.

[6][7] The map that Linehan proposed was adopted by the City Council, but vetoed by Mayor Thomas Menino.

[8] In 2014, Linehan was elected by his fellow councilors to serve as Boston City Council president during his fifth term.

[15][16] Also in 2014, Linehan championed a proposal to rename South Boston's Branch Library for former Massachusetts Senate President William M.

[18] On October 18, 2017, Linehan made the surprise move of immediately retiring from the council two months before his term had been set to expire.