Erin Murphy (Massachusetts politician)

Murphy was born and raised in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. In her adulthood, she has continued to live in the same neighborhood, where she raised her four children. Murphy is a single mother.^[1]

For twenty years, Murphy worked as a Boston Public Schools teacher in Dorchester. Much of her work was with kindergarten and special needs students. For several years before joining the Boston City Council, she worked as a special education coordinator.^[1]

Murphy has completed philanthropic and advocacy work on the matter of substance abuse. She ran the Boston Marathon in three consecutive years to raise more than $50,000 for the Gavin Foundation. In 2016, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh recognized Murphy with the "EXTRAordinary" award. In 2017, the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women gave her their "Unsung Heroine Award" for her work.^[1]

Murphy's grandfather, Richard Murphy, founded the Dorchester United Neighborhood Association and has a public school in Boston named for him.^[2] Her sister, Darragh Murphy, is notable for founding People United Means Action (PUMA) to oppose the nomination of Barack Obama as the Democratic Party nominee in the 2008 United States presidential election.^[3]

Elected in 2021, Murphy serves as a member of the Boston City Council. While the council's elections are nonpartisan, Murphy identifies herself as being a member of the Democratic Party.^[2] One of the more politically moderate members of the council,.^[4] Murphy has established herself as one of the council's most frequent critics of Mayor Michelle Wu.^[5]

Unsuccessful 2019 campaign

In 2019, Murphy ran in the election for the four at-large seats on the Boston City Council. She finished the election in sixth-place in the general election, thereby losing.^[6]

2021 election and partial term

Alongside Ruthzee Louijeune, Murphy was one of two new council members elected to an at-large seat. Incumbents Michael F. Flaherty and Julia Mejia had won reelection, while Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George had each forgone reelection to the city council in order to seek election that year to the mayoralty.^[7][1]

Wu won the coinciding mayoral election. Under the Boston City Charter, a mayoral vacancy sees a new mayor sworn in as soon as is possible after the next mayoral election. Boston's previous permanent mayor, Marty Walsh, had resigned earlier that year to become U.S. secretary of labor, meaning Wu's assumption of office took place in November 2021, earlier than is typical for a mayor and earlier than the expiration of her at-large city council term.^[8] The Boston City Charter also specifies that a vacant at-large Boston City Council will be filled by the highest-performing runner-up who accepts the position. The first runner-up (fifth-place finisher) of the 2019 at-large city council election had been Alejandra St. Guillen, who considered serving the remainder of Wu's term before declining the opportunity. Since Murphy had been the next runner-up (the sixth-place finisher), she was given the opportunity to finish Wu's unexpired city council term.^[6][9] She accepted, and was sworn in December 1 to serve the final month of Wu's unexpired at-large City Council term.^[9][10]

2022–2023

Murphy began her first full term city council term on January 3, 2022.^[11]

During this term, Murphy joined councilors Frank Baker, Michael F. Flaherty, and Ed Flynn in functioning often as a centrist voting bloc.^[4] In September 2023, this bloc signed onto a letter urging that the Boston Public Health Commission hold a vote at their next meeting declaring the situation at Mass & Cass to be a public health emergency.^[12] In February 2023, the bloc was joined by Brian Worrell in voting against advancing a home rule petition to make the Boston School Committee a publicly elected school board. Despite their opposition, the ordinance passed 7–5;^[13] but it was vetoed by Mayor Wu, who had argued that it was an inopportune moment to make such a transition due to the need to stabilize the state of the city's schools.^[14]

The informal bloc of Murphy, Baker, Flaherty, and Flynn were the sole votes against the council's redistricting map that was initially approved by the City Council after the 2020 United States Census and which and Mayor Wu passed into law in November 2022.^[15][16] The redistricting process was contentious.^[17] The map would have shifted three voting precincts that have historically been predominantly Irish American into a ward that is Black-majority. While noting the Murphy acted civilly in expressing her objections, Yawu Miller of the Bay State Banner characterized the objections as being grounded in "white grievance politics".^[3] During this dispute, it was noted by Michael Jonas of Commonwealth Magazine that the bloc was not only politically moderate, but also entirely White.^[15] After a lawsuit, the map was prohibited by preliminary injunction from being used in the 2023 Boston City Council election after a ruling by Federal Judge Patti B. Saris,^[18] and an interim map was approved by the council^[19] and signed into law by Mayor Wu.^[20]

Murphy voted against a home rule petition that would seek state approval for Boston to extend voting participation in municipal elections to non-citizen residents with legal status.^[21]

Murphy and Councilor Baker were the sole votes against the rent control home rule petition championed by Mayor Wu.^[22]

2024–present

Murphy was reelected in 2023, finishing second in the at-large election.^[23]

Murphy is chair of the council's Strong Women, Families and Communities Committee.^[24]

Murphy and Councilor Flynn proposed a resolution urging for the city to expand eligibility for Mayor Wu's pilot program providing free admission to museums for Boston Public Schools students and their families, proposing opening up to students who do not attend the city's public schools.^[25] Councilor Sharon Durkan had the resolution sent to committee for further consideration, rather than put to an immediate vote, noting that the existing program was still in a pilot phase and arguing that further discussion should be had before voting on the resolution.^[26]

In March 2024, Murphy announced that she will in the 2024 election for the court clerkship of the Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County. Incumbent clerk Maura Doyle (who has held the office since 1996) is not seeking reelection.^[27] Murphy has been endorsed by city councilor Ed Flynn and U.S. Congressman Stephen Lynch. Also running for the office is public defense attorney Allison Cartwright.^[5]