Richard D. Murphy, the Los Alamitos council member currently serving as its mayor, announced on Monday that he will not be a candidate for re-election, which opens a new seat vacancy for the fall election.
Murphy made the announcement Monday during a portion of their regular meeting when each of the members have a brief opportunity to report of their individual activities.
“This is a bittersweet time for me,” began Murphy, “because I’m going to announce that I will not be running for re-election.”
He told the council and the public that “I have loved the eight years I’ve served,” who said he wanted to announce his intentions early to give other candidates a chance to qualify to run for the seat.
Murphy said he met his wife about the same time he first got elected and they have decided there are other things they want to do.
Murphy, a real estate executive, said the pandemic and other factors is “making it hard to be landlord” in the state of California.
Murphy manages real estate and observers say he used his financial acumen early in his first term to help the city avoid severe financial straits in which it perennially finds itself embroiled in.
Also on Monday, the council voted to place a sales tax increase on the 2020 ballot to secure revenue that the city desperately needs to avoid default. Past pension liabilities, among other factors, are expected to eat the city’s entire financial reserve before 2025, threatening “dire circumstances” if the tax is not approved (Note: the Event-News Enterprise will present an in-depth report next week on the Los Al ballot proposal).
Although he is not running for re-election, Murphy said he will continue to serve out the remainder of his term. During that time, Murphy said he still wants to accomplish passing a resident’s bill of rights regarding construction in the city and the mayor said he will work other traffic improvements that he has long championed before his term ends in January.
“My decision was kind of unexpected,” said Murphy, “even to myself.”
