Tom Murphy (mayor)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tom Murphy (born August 15, 1944) is a Democratic politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From January 1994 until January 2006 he served as mayor of Pittsburgh.
Prior to his November 1993 election as mayor, Murphy served as a State Representative in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing Pittsburgh's North Side 20th Legislative District. In 1989 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic primary nomination for mayor.
After driving Pittsburgh to financial ruin with scores of failed initiatives as well as being involved in a vote-rigging scam in the 2001 mayoral election, many consider Murphy to be one of the worst mayors the city has ever seen. On December 21, 2004, Murphy announced he would not stand for re-election as mayor in 2005. Murphy's defenders blame Pittsburgh's financial woes on the state; Pennsylvanians pay a 1% wage tax where they live and a $52 annual fee where they work. This, combined with the existence of over 100 municipalities in Allegheny County, strains the resources of cities and towns with a large number of jobs per resident.
He was one of Pennsylvania's presidential electors in 2000, casting his vote in favor of Al Gore.
In June 2006, Murphy entered into an agreement with Federal goverenment to avoid prosecution. Murphy was under investigation for his role in an endorsement by the Pittsburgh City Firefighters Union before the 2001 election.
Murphy graduated from John Carroll University in Cleveland in 1967 and received a graduate degree from Hunter College in urban studies in 1973. He spent two years in the Peace Corps in Paraguay starting in 1970.
- See also: List of Mayors of Pittsburgh
| Preceded by: Sophie Masloff (D) |
Mayor of Pittsburgh 1994 – 2006 |
Succeeded by: Bob O'Connor (D) |
[edit] External links
- Rich Lord (2005). Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Review of Mayor Murphy's 12 Years in Office. Retrieved December 25, 2005.
