Dick Murphy

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Dick Murphy

Dick Murphy (b. December 16, 1942) is a former U.S. politician. He served as the 33rd Mayor of San Diego, California from 2000 to 2005

1 Early life
2 Mayor
3 Quote
4 External link
5 References

[edit] Early life

Murphy was born 1942 in Oak Park, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Economics. He received his Master of Business Administration from Harvard University and his law degree from Stanford University.

Murphy served as an officer in the U.S. Army, in The Pentagon as a military aide to the Nixon administration. In the early 1970s he moved to San Diego, where he was Marketing Director for Bank of America, and as 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. In 1989, the governor elevated him to superior court judge.

[edit] Mayor

Murphy's mayoral term began in December 2000, and he was reelected in November 2004. His election was a long shot against Ron Roberts, who had the support of the business community. He campaigned on fixing the stalled construction of the downtown ballpark and to work to build a new airport. 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 Murphy's last term, the city faced serious fiscal problems, including an underfunded pension program and a series of credit-score downgrades. Murphy's last term also saw the opening of PETCO Park. His re-election campaign saw controversy. A last minute write-in candidate, Donna Frye, a member of the San Diego City Council, may have received more votes than Murphy. A number of voters did not completely or properly fill out their ballots for mayor.

The April 25, 2005 issue of Time Magazine listed him as one of the three worst big-city mayors in the United States. ^[1] The other two worst mayors are Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit and John F. Street of Philadelphia (not in order). Shortly after the article appeared, Murphy, on April 25, 2005, announced his plans to resign as Mayor and resigned July 15, 2005.^[2]