Richard M. Murphy (born December 16, 1942) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician who served as the 33rd

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

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from 2000 to 2005.

Early life

Murphy was born 1942 in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated ...

. He was captain of the varsity basketball team and Senior Class President of Proviso West High School in its first graduating class in 1961. He graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

with a degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

and served as president of the

Alpha Tau Omega Alpha Tau Omega (), commonly known as ATO, is an American social fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865 by Otis Allan Glazebrook. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters and colonies in the United Stat ...

fraternity. He received his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

and his law degree from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

. Murphy served as an officer in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, in

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and as a military aide to the Nixon administration. In the early 1970s he moved to

, where he was Marketing Director for

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

, and an attorney at the law firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps. In 1980, he was elected to the San Diego City Council, and served from 1981 through 1985. In 1985, he was appointed municipal court judge by Governor

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (; June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also served ...

. In 1989, the governor elevated him to superior court judge where he served for more than a decade.

Mayor

Murphy was first elected mayor in November 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, he is a registered Republican. 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 in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

again against Ron Roberts. His re-election campaign saw controversy with a last minute write-in candidate,

Donna Frye Donna Frye (born January 20, 1952) is an American politician from San Diego. She was born in Pennsylvania and is one of three children. Frye was a member of the San Diego City Council, representing District 6 and a two-time candidate for mayor of ...

, a member of the San Diego

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

. 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. 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. During Murphy's second term, the city faced serious fiscal problems from years of financial mismanagement by past city governments, problems including an underfunded 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. 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.

References

External links

The City of San Diego Mayor's Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Dick Mayors of San Diego San Diego City Council members California state court judges United States Army officers Harvard Business School alumni Stanford Law School alumni 1942 births Living people California Republicans People from Oak Park, Illinois University of Illinois alumni Bank of America people Military personnel from Illinois