JOHN LEAHY has left the building. The City Hall building, that is. The longtime city councilor and one-time mayor is returning to the school side of the house, where his political career started in 2001.
Back then, Leahy was elected to the Lowell School Committee. Now, he comes back to take a staff position in the Facilities Department of the Lowell Public Schools. A reporter caught up with Leahy after a ceremony in the Mayor’s Reception Room on Tuesday during which Gov.
Maura Healey announced her administration’s $27 million Housing Development Incentive Program . Lowell received $4.5 million for two downtown housing developments.
The usually nattily dressed Leahy was sporting a polo shirt and khakis and happened to be in the building that morning picking up the approved paperwork for his new job. Ever the pol, he still managed to snag a picture with Healey, Lt. Gov.
Kim Driscoll and city leadership including his fellow councilors Mayor Dan Rourke and Sokhary Chau. The Belvidere resident may miss the limelight and access that elected office on the city side brings. Then again, maybe stepping into a staff position after more than two decades of public service is exactly what he wants.
Leahy, who has owned and operated Leahy Painting for more than 25 years, also found time to raise three kids with his wife, Joni, while serving on the School Committee from 2001 to 2011 and the City Council from 2012 until 2024. A look through The Sun’s photo archives shows Leahy attending.