Linda Melconian

In 1971, Linda Melconian began her career on Capitol Hill working for Congressman Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill of Massachusetts. Over the next 10 years, she worked as a legislative assistant and assistant counsel as O’Neill served as Majority Whip, Majority Leader, and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. In doing so, she became one of the first women to hold floor privileges in all three House leadership offices and gained valuable political experience that formed the foundation of her own political career.

Linda Melconian was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, the daughter of Virginia Melconian, a homemaker, and George Melconian, a line-type machinist for the local newspapers. She attended Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where she secured an internship on Capitol Hill with Massachusetts Representative Edward Boland. She also worked as an intern for Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine before graduating from college in 1970.

As part of then-Majority Whip O’Neill’s staff, Melconian learned the workings of the institution from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. She represented Whip O’Neill on the House Floor and was educated in the finer points of legislating through her interactions with Members of Congress. She participated in vote-counting and the behind-the-scenes dialogue that shaped important legislation.

When O’Neill became Majority Leader in 1973, Melconian added speechwriting and research to her duties on the House Floor. She also worked to build connections between the Speaker and the Democratic Caucus in anticipation of O’Neill’s future campaign for Speaker by planning district visits and serving as a liaison between Members and the Speaker on legislative matters.

During O’Neill’s Speakership, Melconian was involved in the Speaker’s effort to implement ethics guidelines and revise the seniority system and the committee selection process. She also assisted the Speaker in his forays into U.S. foreign policy, providing information and accompanying him during meetings with visiting dignitaries in Washington, DC, and abroad.

After completing law school at George Mason University, Melconian served as assistant counsel to Speaker O’Neill before returning to Springfield to run for a vacant seat in the Massachusetts state senate in 1981. The following year she won election to the first of 11 terms in the Massachusetts legislature, rising to become the first woman to hold the title of majority leader in the state senate. She resides in Springfield and teaches courses in government and politics at Suffolk University in Boston.