James M. Kelly: Longtime Boston City Councilor from South Boston Dies at

James M. Kelly was a Boston politician who represented South Boston on the City Council for more than two decades. Born in 1940, he graduated from South Boston High School and worked as a sheet metal worker.

He served on the Boston City Council from 1984 to 2007, representing District 2, and was council president from 1994 to 2000. He was known for opposing court-ordered school busing and affirmative action. In 2001 he surprised colleagues by backing Charles Yancey for council president.

Kelly appears in the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1976 photograph The Soiling of Old Glory, taken during the Boston busing crisis. He died on January 9, 2007, and was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Dorchester.

Achievements: Boston City Council member (1984-2007), council president (1994-2000).

Birth: 1940 - Boston, Massachusetts.

Profession: Politician.

Interesting Facts: He was a lifelong resident of South Boston.