Despite his defeat in the preliminary election, Boston City Councilor Bill Linehan said he hopes to continue his role in local government as he runs for reelection on Nov. 8.

Linehan, of South Boston,  took 35 percent of the preliminary vote in September, trailing by 4 percent behind candidate Suzanne Lee, a Boston public school principal.

For the past four years, Linehan has served on the City Council, representing the community that his family has lived in for generations. His family has resided in Boston since the Linehans came to America at the end of the nineteenth century, he said.

“My grandfather was born in the district, but not in South Boston,” he said in an interview. “He lived in Chinatown with his brothers in the South End, so I’m not only from here [South Boston] my entire life, I’m of this district that I represent.”

Linehan said he began his political activism at the age of 14, and later graduated magna cum laude from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. Prior to his election to the council, he worked for a variety of city service delivery positions for 20 years.

When a seat as District 2 city councilor opened up in 2007, Linehan said he thought it was something he had to do. He won in a contested race and began serving in May.

“I’ve enjoyed the past few years, and feel I’ve been extremely successful in improving quality of life for my district and projecting their interests, which I feel is my responsibility,” he said.

As chair of the Committee on Economic Development & Planning, Linehan said he has contributed to the overall well being of the city as one of the 13 city councilors.

Regarding economic development, he said that counselors have been able to attract some projects in the city that will “create jobs and revenue for the city to operate.”

During one of the recent weekly meetings, Linehan and Councilor Tito Jackson, of Roxbury, called for a hearing to ensure the adherence to the Boston Residents Jobs Policy.

With the uptake in development and construction projects, he said they want Boston residents and minorities to get their chance to work on sites such as the rebuilding of Dudley Square.

“We want to make sure that Boston residents get their fair share, which is 50 percent, that people of color get their fair share of 25 percent, and women have their fair share of 10 percent,” he said. “We are going to bring in folks to demand that they meet those standards.”

With a new census every 10 years, Boston is also required to redistrict its nine district seats. Linehan said there has been a significant growth of 5 percent, mainly in the northern area of Boston.

Linehan, as chair of the Committee on Census & Redistricting, said he has been handling the job that deals with the amount of people living in each district.

“We’ve been extremely successful in attracting and keeping people in District 2,” Linehan said. “The impacts are significant because it will decide who’s electable for the next 10 years in the city of Boston.”

Linehan said he and his campaign team have continued outreach by directly mailing a number of publications, power knocking on doors, holding coffees and house parties, attending numerous events and visiting senior residents.

“I feel like my position to get reelected has been strengthened for the last six weeks,” Linehan said. “The campaign is running smoothly with the resources we need, and we’re moving onto victory on Nov. 8.”