Boston City Councillor John M. Tobin, Jr. was elected as the District 6 representative to the Boston City Council in 2001. He was re-elected in 2003, 2005 and 2007. His district includes the neighborhoods of West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and parts of Roslindale and Mission Hill.

Since taking office in 2002, Councillor Tobin has served as Chair of the Committee on Arts, Film, Humanities & Tourism. Councillor Tobin is Vice Chair of the Post Audit & Oversight Committee and of the Centennial Committee, which was formed to plan activities commemorating a 1909 change to the City Charter that established the Boston City Council as a unicameral body. Councillor Tobin also serves as a member of the following committees: City & Neighborhood Services, Education, Environment & Health, Government Operations, Rules & Administration, and Youth Affairs.

Councillor Tobin has focused on improving the quality of life for individuals and families in his district and across the city. He proposed increasing residents’ participation in the citywide recycling program, an idea that has been implemented on a pilot basis. Thanks to Councillor Tobin, the city’s building department now notifies abutters to new construction for “as of right” projects or jobs that don’t require zoning board approval. In 2005 he helped pass an ordinance that imposes fines on property owners who do not remove graffiti. Two years ago Councillor Tobin launched Slow Down Boston, a citywide public awareness campaign aimed at curbing speeding in the city’s neighborhoods.

Councillor Tobin continues to look for innovative ways to modernize city services. Recently he proposed allowing residents and visitors to pay for parking meters in Boston using their cell phones. A few years ago he began a citywide dialogue on how to make internet access available across its neighborhoods.

Councillor Tobin is also a strong proponent of increasing citizen participation in elections. He proposed extending City Council terms from two to four years so that City Council elections would be held concurrently with the Mayor. He also proposed setting term limits on the offices of Mayor and City Councillor.

One of Councillor Tobin’s top priorities is ensuring that every young person in Boston has access to a quality education. In the three years that he served as Chair of the Council’s Education Committee, he worked closely with the Boston Public Schools (BPS) and the Boston School Committee to reassess how students are assigned to the public schools. Councillor Tobin called for the installation of a Global Positioning System on the city’s fleet of public school buses, which now helps ensure the safe passage of students to and from school. He also successfully advocated for televised School Committee meetings.

As Chair of the City Council’s Arts Committee, Councillor Tobin continues to fight to restore funding to the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Tourism & Special Events, and has initiated innovative ways to enhance the arts citywide and promote cultural tourism. Councillor Tobin filed an order with the City Council in 2007 calling for the appointment of an official city poet laureate. Mayor Menino backed the idea and appointed Sam Cornish to the post.

Councillor Tobin also continues to be a strong proponent of resurrecting the city’s Film Bureau arguing that the movie industry creates jobs, generates revenue, and showcases the city to the world. He sponsors an annual art contest challenging Boston students to design his holiday greeting card and proposed the “Boston Walk of Fame” as a way to promote tourism and honor local people who have made a lasting contribution to the arts. He currently serves on the board of the Boston Children’s Theatre.

Councillor Tobin was born in Boston on August 31, 1969. He is the son of Jack and Kathy (Freeman) Tobin and is the oldest of six children. He grew up in Dorchester’s Lower Mills neighborhood and in West Roxbury where he currently resides with his wife Kate (Plunkett) and their sons Matthew and Daniel. He is a 1987 graduate of Catholic Memorial High School in West Roxbury and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Active in his community, Councillor Tobin is the founder of Parkway Soccer Family Day, a daylong celebration of the neighborhoods along the VFW Parkway. He has also been a member of numerous neighborhood organizations and has been active in West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain youth sports. He is currently working with a group of volunteers to organize a West Roxbury neighborhood reunion that will be held in June 2009.

Councillor Tobin can be reached in his City Hall Office Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at (617) 635-4220. He also holds weekly office hours in both Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury.