The Boston City Council is the legislative body of the City of Boston, acting as a bridge between everyday citizens and City Hall. Click through the gallery and to know the 13 members of the Boston City Council.

Pictured: The 2012 Boston City Council was sworn in at Faneuil Hall by Mayor Thomas M. Menino on Jan. 2, 2012.

Stephen Murphy
President, councilor at-large

Stephen Murphy was elected as an at-large member of the Boston City Council in 1997. Murphy has worked with Mayor Menino to add more Boston police officers and firefighters, sponsored CORI reform, and pushed for the installation of smoke detectors in homes.

Felix Arroyo
Councilor at-large

Felix Arroyo began his career as a community organizer before he was first elected to the Boston City Council in 2009. He has pushed “Invest in Boston” legislation which aims to invest Boston’s money in banks that invest in Boston to help promote economic development.

John Connolly
Councilor at-large

John Connolly is currently serving his second term as an at-large city councilor, having been first elected in 2007. He has worked to improve Boston’s public schools by overseeing public hearings on the negotiations between Boston’s School Department and the Boston Teachers Union. He has also sponsored legislation to hold parents accountable for truant students.

Ayanna Pressley
Councilor at-large

Councilor Pressley became the first African-American woman to serve on the Boston City Council in 2009. She founded and chairs the Committee on Women & Healthy Communities which focuses on bringing stability to families and communities, reducing violence, and fighting poverty. The committee also focuses on domestic and sexual violence, child safety, substance abuse, and more.

Salvatore LaMattina
District 1 councilor

Sal LaMattina (left) was first elected in 2006. Prior to joining the Council, LaMattina worked in the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services as a liaison to the North End and his native East Boston. LaMattina chairs the WARD 1 Democratic Committee and is the founder of Eastie Pride Day.

Bill Linehan
District 2 councilor

Bill Linehan is a 20-year public service veteran. Linehan worked as the director of operations for Boston’s Parks Department and was special assistant to the chief operating officer of the City of Boston. He was elected to the Council in 2007.

Frank Baker
District 3 councilor

Frank Baker (right) was first elected in 2011. He worked for the City of Boston Printing Department for more than 20 years, beginning shortly after graduating from high school. He serves on the Council’s Committee on Arts, Film, Humanities and Tourism and the Census and Redistricting Committee.

Charles Yancey
District 4 councilor

First elected in 1983, Charles Yancey is the longest-serving member of the Boston City Council. His involvement in the Free South Africa Movement in 1984, when he championed a bill that would withdraw $12.5 million in Boston assets from companies doing business in apartheid-run South Africa, earned him an invitation to speak at the United Nations.

Robert Consalvo
District 5 councilor

Robert Consalvo joined the Boston City Council after winning a special election in 2002. Previously, he worked in forSenator Edward M. Kennedy in Washington, D.C. Consalvo serves as chairman of the Boston City Council Housing Committee and as vice-chairman of the Government Operations Committee.

Matt O’Malley
District 6 councilor

Matt O’Malley (at podium) was first elected to the Boston City Council in a special election in 2010, then reelected to the seat in 2011. O’Malley, as chairman of the City Council’s Government Operations Committee, has pushed for greater communication between state and local officials on snow and ice removal and for the expansion of a drug drop-off program.

Tito Jackson
District 7 councilor

Tito Jackson (right) was first elected to the Boston City Council in a special election in June 2011. He was reelected to a full term in November 2011. Jackson previously worked for Governor Deval Patrick’s administration and now chairs the Council’s Post Audit and Oversight Committee.

Michael Ross
District 8 councilor

Michael Michael Ross has served the Boston City Council since his election in 1999. Ross served two terms as the council president and fought for mixed-use development in the Fenway neighborhood around Fenway Park.

Mark Ciommo
District 9 councilor

Mark Ciommo was elected to the Boston City Council in 2007. Previously, he spent 14 years as the executive director of the Veronica B. Smith Multi-Service Senior Center in Brighton.