Stephen John Murphy was born Dorchester and raised in Hyde Park with two sisters and a brother. His mother Marjorie Mitchell Murphy is a retired Teacher's Aid with the Boston Public School Department and his father Stephen Murphy is a retired Boston Police Officer and Lawyer.
After graduating from the Boston Latin School (1975), Stephen attended Stonehill College where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration (1979). While at Stonehill, Stephen started working as a bus driver for Autobus Inc. transporting special needs students to school. After graduation from college, Stephen worked full-time at Autobus, Inc. working his way up to General Manager and ultimately Vice President (1979 - 1984).
After Autobus, Inc. was sold; Stephen went from working in the private sector on to public service, working in the Office of the President of the State Senate as a Budget Analyst, focusing on local aid issues (1985-1987). He then served as Executive Assistant in the Budget Office in the Attorney General's Office (1991), and as Assistant Personnel Director at the Secretary of State's Office (1993-1995).
Stephen took office as an At-Large member of the Boston City Council in 1997. During the past nine years, Stephen has served on many of the Council's committees. As Chair of the Committee on Public Safety, Councilor Murphy, with the help of Mayor Menino and his Council colleagues, was able to add 550 new Boston Police officers and 175 new Boston Fire Fighters, making Boston a safer place to live, work and visit. To ensure safety of the pedestrians of our well-known walking city, Councilor Murphy also led the charge for the installation of crosswalk countdown lights throughout the city.
Councilor Murphy has been the leader on many important issues facing the city such as. He was the lead sponsor on Criminal Offender Record Information (C.O.R.I.) reform, which has since been taken up at the State House and has had significant changes implemented at the state level. Councilor Murphy was also the impetus behind the much needed changes to the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (P.I.L.O.T) program. For over five years Councilor Murphy pushed for changes to the program citing the need for tax fairness. The result was the Mayor’s Task Force on P.I.L.O.T. reform. The Task Force worked diligently on balancing the need for tax fairness while recognizing the benefits non-profits bring to the city. As a result, the Task Force made recommendations that are changing the P.I.L.O.T. program and will bring an additional $25 million to the City.
Other important issues Councilor Murphy spearheaded were the Groundwater Overlay District implementation and installation of proper smoke detector technology for use in homes. He also works tirelessly on the City's budget and issues regarding public safety, labor, elderly and education. Councilor Murphy is well known for his commitment to quality of life issues for neighborhood residents.
Councilor Murphy was unanimously elected by his colleagues to lead the city council as its President for 2011. He has also served as Chair of the Committees on Public Safety, Ways & Means, Government Operations and Labor, as well as serving as the Vice President of the City Council.
As president, he will put his expertise in business and finance and his years of legislative experience to use during these tough economic times.
