Dick Murphy | |
|---|---|
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| 33rdMayor of San Diego | |
| In office December 4, 2000 – July 15, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Susan Golding |
| Succeeded by | Jerry Sanders |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard M. Murphy (1942-12-16)December 16, 1942 (age 83) |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 children, 5 grandchildren |
| Education | University of Illinois (BA) Harvard University (MBA) Stanford University (JD) |
Richard M. Murphy (born December 16, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 33rdmayor of San Diego from 2000 to 2005. He is a member of theRepublican Party.
Murphy was born in 1942 inOak Park, Illinois. He was captain of the varsity basketball team and Senior Class President ofProviso West High School in its first graduating class in 1961. He graduatedPhi Beta Kappa from theUniversity of Illinois with a degree ineconomics and served as president of theAlpha Tau Omega fraternity. He received hisMaster of Business Administration fromHarvard University and hisDoctor of Jurisprudence degree fromStanford University.[1]
Murphy served as an officer in theU.S. Army, inthe Pentagon and the White House as a military aide to theNixon administration. In the early 1970s he moved toSan Diego, where he was Marketing Director forBank of America, and an attorney at the law firm ofLuce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps. In 1980, he was elected to the San Diego City Council, and served from 1981 through 1985 helping create Mission Trails Regional Park. In 1985, he was appointed municipal court judge by GovernorGeorge Deukmejian. In 1989, the governor elevated him to superior court judge where he served for more than a decade.
"I want to be mayor, but I don't need to be mayor. I'm not a career politician."
Murphy was first elected mayor inNovember 2000. His election was a long shot against Ron Roberts, who had the support of the business community. He campaigned on providing "Leadership With 2020 Vision"—a promise to set forth a clear long term vision for the city and to provide the leadership to implement that vision. Murphy had previously served one term on the San Diego City Council representing the Seventh District. While elections for municipal offices in California are non-partisan,[citation needed] he is a registeredRepublican.
During his first term in office, Murphy set ten goals for the city and had success in accomplishing many of them. The most significant included establishing the city's first ethics commission, completing construction of a new downtown ballpark for the San Diego Padres baseball team, forming the San Diego Regional Airport Authority, creating the San Diego River Conservancy, building the Veterans Memorial Garden in Balboa Park, jump starting plans for a new central library, and implementing a plan to underground all overhead utility lines in the city.
Murphy ran for a second term in2004 again against Ron Roberts. His re-election campaign saw controversy with a last minute write-in candidate,Donna Frye, a member of theSan Diego City Council. A number of voters did not follow the proper procedure for supporting a write-in candidate, either misspelling the name of Donna Frye (usually as "Donna Fry") or writing her name in the blank but neglecting to fill in the corresponding bubble to indicate their preference.[3] After a legal imbroglio involving three (unsuccessful) lawsuits, these votes were ultimately not counted, resulting in Murphy winning the official tally by approximately 2,000 votes.[4]
During Murphy's second term, the city faced serious fiscal problems from years of financial mismanagement by past city governments,[5] problems including anunderfunded pension program and a series of credit-score downgrades. Facing mounting criticism over his controversial election victory and failure to adequately address the pension underfunding problem, Murphy announced his plans to resign as Mayor and resigned July 15, 2005.[6] Murphy has written a book about his experiences as mayor entitled "San Diego's Judge Mayor: How Murphy's Law Blindsided Leadership with 2020 Vision" Sunbelt Publications San Diego.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Mayor of San Diego, California 2000—2005 | Succeeded by Michael Zucchet (acting) |
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1 denotes acting or interim mayor | |||
| International | |
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| National | |
