Brian Murphy Departs City Council

One seat is sitting empty on the Cambridge City Council following the resignation of Vice Mayor Brian P. Murphy ’86-’87 on Monday.

Murphy, a councillor since 1999 and a long-term member of the ordinance and finance committees, has already begun his new job as deputy secretary for governmental affairs with the Mass. Executive Office of Transportation.

Based on an analysis of the 2007 election results, Larry Ward, a licensed counselor, is likely to be Murphy’s replacement, said local political commentator Robert Winters.

The Cambridge Election Commission will hold a vacancy recount to officially determine Murphy’s replacement on Feb. 24.

In his resignation speech at Monday’s City Council meeting, Murphy recalled some of the many resolutions the council has passed during his tenure, including reform of the city’s Criminal Offender Record Information policy and efforts to clarify the city’s property tax system.

“As Finance Chair, I’ve been honored to be a part of the strongest fiscal management team in Massachusetts,” Murphy said in his speech.

Murphy focused on finance prior to joining the council, Winters said.

He recalled that Murphy went to every budget committee hearing during his first campaign for the council.

“He’s a guy who did his homework,” Winters said.

Winters, who is also an Extension School professor, praised Murphy as a hard worker behind the scenes of the Council.

“There are other city councillors who go out of their way to take credit for things, including things they don’t deserve credit for,” he said. “Brian worked on lots of things, but didn’t take credit for them.”

In his new post, Murphy will be the liaison to the legislature and other government bodies for the Office of Transportation, according to Adam Hurtubise, spokesman for the office.

The Cambridge Chronicle reports that Murphy, formerly a full-time city councillor and dad, will see a significant pay raise, from $66,000 a year to $100,000.

Cambridge uses a proportional representation election system, in which voters rank all candidates in order of preference.

To determine Murphy’s replacement, the election commission will look at only those ballots that were awarded to Murphy in the general election—ballots that ranked him first, or above any extremely low scoring candidate.

Winters, who publishes political analysis in the online Cambridge Civic Journal, said he has run the election commission’s software using the 2007 election results, and found that Ward will win the vacancy recount.

Ward, a licensed counselor and the owner of a computer store, has lived in Cambridge for more than twenty years, according to his campaign Web site.

The site lists education, green space, and affordable housing as his primary interests.

All nine city councillors will face reelection this November.

—Staff writer Sarah J. Howland can be reached at showland@fas.harvard.edu