Linda Welch Chapin (born 1941) is a politician in the U.S. state of Florida. She was the first chair^{[citation needed]} of the Orange County Commission, an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, and Orange County's first mayor.

Linda Welch was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1941. She received her early education at the Old Greenwich School in Greenwich, Connecticut and eventually studied political science and journalism at Michigan State University. She met her husband Bruce E. Chapin at Walt Disney's "It's a Small World" attraction at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City. They moved to Orlando, Florida, where she joined, and eventually became president of, the local chapters of both the League of Women Voters and the Junior League. When her children started school, she took a job at a downtown bank.

In 1985, Chapin was selected by the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce to head their "Project 2000", an effort to set millennial goals for the city in the areas of economic development, the arts, and transportation. As this project came to an end, the district's county commissioner retired and Chapin campaigned successfully to win his open seat.

As county commissioner, Chapin pushed for modernization of the county charter, which was completed in 1988 and included the creation of a new position of Chair of the Orange County Commission, to be elected by a county-wide vote. In 1990 Chapin was elected as the first holder of this position.

Upon the demise of the Florida Symphony Orchestra, under Chapin's leadership, the Orange County Commission unanimously voted to buy the Florida Symphony Orchestra's extensive music library that had been accumulated over 43 years. The County Commission's $50,000 purchase preserved the invaluable FSO music library for the future of symphonic music in Central Florida.

In 1994, Chapin announced that she would not seek re-election. Her chosen successor, state senator Toni Jennings, declined to run and remained in Tallahassee, leaving two rival commissioners, conservative Tom Dorman and liberal Fran Pignone, competing for the role. In response, Chapin launched a re-election campaign, and won a run-off against Pignone by 61% to 39%.

Chapin's time as Orange County Chair coincided with Glenda Hood's term as Mayor of Orlando, and the two women, along with Jennings and Dianna Fuller Morgan, Walt Disney World's Senior Vice President for Community and Government Relations, were recognized as the prominent figures of the local "old girl network"

On June 25, 1996, Chapin led the Orange County Commission in approving a $53 million subsidy to build a fourth interchange for Walt Disney World on Interstate 4. This spending later sparked a public outcry when it was emerged that the construction project would not be located in Orange County but in neighboring Osceola County. Chapin justified the subsidy by arguing that Disney's billion dollar investment in constructing its Animal Kingdom theme park and the Coronado Springs and Boardwalk resorts would generate tax dollars for Orange County.