John J. McDonough is an American politician who served as a member of the Boston School Committee from 1966 to 1968 and again from 1972 to 1982. He was the Chairman/President of the School Committee in 1967, 1975, 1976, and 1980. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of Boston in 1967

Boston mayoral election, 1967

The Boston mayoral election of 1967 occurred on Tuesday, November 7, 1967 between Secretary of the Commonwealth Kevin White and Boston School Committee member Louise Day Hicks...

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McDonough was an opponent of court-ordered busing and in 1974 he and two other School Committee members were held in contempt of court

Contempt of court

Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...

 for not coming up with a second phase of the desegregation process.

In 1981, McDonough was acquitted on charges of taking a $5,000 kickback from a school bus company.

He is the brother of former Boston City Council

Boston City Council

The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councilors are elected to two-year terms and there is no limit on the number of terms an individual can serve...

or and city clerk Patrick F. McDonough

Patrick F. McDonough

Patrick F. McDonough was an American police officer, attorney, and politician who served as a member of the Boston City Council from 1956 to 1964, 1966 to 1970, and 1972 to 1982. He was the Council President in 1958, 1961, 1973, and 1981...

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