Bruce Bolling | |
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![]() Bolling, circa 1984-1987 | |
President of the Boston City Council | |
In office 1986–1987 | |
Preceded by | Joseph M. Tierney |
Succeeded by | Christopher A. Iannella |
Member of the Boston City Council | |
In office September 1992 – 1994 | |
Preceded by | Christopher A. Iannella |
Succeeded by | Peggy Davis-Mullen and Richard P. Iannella |
Constituency | At-large |
In office 1984–1991 | |
Preceded by | district created |
Succeeded by | Anthony Crayton |
Constituency | District 7 |
In office 1982–1984 | |
Preceded by | Lawrence DiCara, Patrick F. McDonough, Rosemarie Sansone, and John W. Sears |
Succeeded by | N/A |
Constituency | At-large |
Personal details | |
Born | April 29, 1945 |
Died | September 11, 2012 Boston, Massachusetts, US | (aged 67)
Nationality | American |
Spouse | Joyce Ferriabough |
Alma mater |
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Bruce Carlton Bolling (April 29, 1945 – September 11, 2012) was a politician and businessman in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Boston City Council and served as the council's first black president in the mid-1980s. He unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Boston in 1993.
Bolling was educated at Boston English High School, Lindsey Wilson College, and received a master's degree in education from Antioch University (now Cambridge College). [1] He was from "the city's most politically successful black family. His father, Royal L. Bolling, was a state senator and his brother, Royal L. Bolling Jr., served as state representative." [1]
Around 1980, Bolling worked "in the administration of Mayor Kevin White in a variety of capacities, including positions in the Office of Public Safety and as a manager of a Little City Hall." [1] In November 1981, he was elected to the Boston City Council, in the final election when all seats were at-large. He was subsequently re-elected to four two-year terms as the representative for District 7 ( Roxbury). He was council president in 1986 and 1987 — "the first Black elected president of the Boston City Council." [2] He lost his position on the council following the November 1991 election, when he unsuccessfully sought an at-large seat. [3] He returned to the council in September 1992, following the death of at-large member Christopher A. Iannella, as Bolling had finished fifth in the election for four at-large seats. [4] [5] Bolling ran for Mayor of Boston in 1993, [6] finishing fifth in the preliminary election.
From 2000 until his death, Bolling was director of MassAlliance, a firm specializing in small business development. [7] He died of prostate cancer on September 11, 2012. [8] He was 67.
In 2015, the Ferdinand Building in then-Dudley Square (now Nubian Square) was renamed the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building in his honor. [9] [10] The dedication ceremony was attended by his brother, Royal L. Bolling, Jr., Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, and other Massachusetts politicians. [11]