Councilman WILLIAM GREENLEE was born, raised, and has lived his whole life in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia. He is a graduate of St. Joseph's Prep and attained a degree in journalism from Temple University. He and his wife Leslie have been married for the past 21 years.
Growing up in a tight-knit neighborhood Bill developed a strong interest in the affairs of his community and the city. This led to a natural progression to involvement in local politics. In 1980, he began a 26-year career working as chief aide to City Councilman David Cohen, concentrating on providing constituent services and working on legislative issues. In helping citizens with their problems, Bill dealt with many different city, state, and federal departments and agencies. This gave him detailed knowledge of the inner workings of the city and enables him to make meaningful suggestions in improving the delivery of government services.
Councilman Greenlee has been a participating member of the Fairmount Civic Association for thirty years, periodically serving on the board. Since 1982, he has been a Democratic Committeeperson. In 1994, he was elected Democratic Leader of the 15th Ward, an economically and racially diverse area composed of the neighborhoods of Fairmount, Francisville, and Spring Garden. Through these endeavors, Councilman Greenlee knows that all people's needs are important, regardless of their background.
The Councilman was first elected to Council in a special election in November 2006 and was re-elected to serve a full term in 2007 and again in 2011. The Councilman is chairperson of the Rules and Law and Government Committees and is also the Vice-Chair of the Public Property and Public Works Committees. The Councilman also serves on the Streets and Services, Licenses and Inspections, Transportation and Public Utilities, Public Health and Human Services, and Housing Neighborhood Development and the Homeless committees. The Councilman was elected by his colleagues to serve as Majority Deputy Whip in 2012.
Councilman Greenlee’s legislative accomplishments include protecting property owners and buyers from the growing number of thieves who have made it their business to steal properties by requiring the Records Department to perform additional checks before the recording of a deed. The Councilman was also the prime sponsor of legislation to protect domestic violence victims from losing their jobs by requiring employers to provide unpaid leave to victims and also requiring landlords from terminating a lease based upon a tenant’s status as a domestic violence victim.
The Councilman was also the sponsor of legislation which requires residential property owners to register, inspect and maintain properties that are vacant upon foreclosure. He also was the sponsor of legislation which establishes a Transit Oriented Development District in the City’s zoning code to help promote public transportation.
Councilman Greenlee was the proud sponsor of legislation to overhaul the Fair Practices ordinance, which is the City’s Civil Rights Legislation. The Ordinance prohibits discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations. The update of the law expands and makes the language more accessible, increases the penalties for discrimination and expands the protected classes of citizens to include domestic violence victims, the disabled and the LGBT community.
