Rep. Kevin Murphy (D-Lowell) Targeted by GOP

Murphy targeted in GOP complaint
By Jennifer Myers, jmyers@lowellsun.com
Article Last Updated: 07/26/2008 06:36:10 AM EDT

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Republican Party has filed a complaint with the state Ethics Commission against Lowell Democratic Rep. Kevin Murphy regarding his legal representation of the city's four assistant school superintendents, one of which is his wife, in contract negotiations last month.

The negotiations, approved in a 4-3 School Committee vote, resulted in an average pay increase of 6.3 percent for the four administrators, in addition to a number of extra benefits and perks.

Kevin Murphy's wife, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services Ann Murphy, had her contract renegotiated two years early and received a $10,000 raise, the largest of the four.

In a letter to the Ethics Commission, MassGOP Executive Director Rob Willington asks the agency to investigate whether Kevin Murphy violated the law by:

* Not disclosing his direct financial interest with his wife's employment to the Ethics Commission.

* Representing a private group of individuals and his wife before a board that relies on him to bring millions of dollars in local education aid back to the city annually.

* Negotiating a larger raise for his wife than the other individuals, a situation the GOP opines could be a violation of a law that prohibits him from using "his official position to secure for himself or others unwarranted privileges or exemptions which are of substantial value and which are not properly available to similarly situated individuals."

"It'simportant that the people of Massachusetts have faith in their elected officials to do the right thing for their constituents," Willington said in a statement. "The ethics law exists for a reason, and the Massachusetts Republican Party will continue to fight to make sure everyone works under a fair and open process and that no special advantage is given to the friends and family of Beacon Hill insiders."

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Tired Of Beacon Hill Democrats?

The Boston Globe reports the MassGOP request for a special ethics investigation on Speaker Sal DiMasi.

"As House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi yesterday defended and even lauded his own actions, a state Republican Party official asked the Massachusetts Ethics Commission to investigate him for playing golf with a Suffolk Downs executive at the same time the track's owners are vying for a license to operate a casino in East Boston.

Joseph O'Donnell acknowledged playing golf with DiMasi on two recent occasions at a pair of exclusive South Florida clubs. He initially said DiMasi did not pay when he accompanied him to the Floridian Yacht & Golf Club in Palm City, but later told the Globe he would send DiMasi a bill.

"According to your website . . . elected officials may not accept anything worth $50 or more from anyone with whom you have official dealings," Robert Willington, executive director of the Massachusetts Republican Party, wrote to the ethics panel.

"It is well known that Speaker DiMasi has opposed legalized gambling, and Joe O'Donnell has publicly confirmed that he has lobbied in favor of legalized gambling while golfing with Speaker DiMasi," the letter continued.

"The mission of the Massachusetts Ethics Commission is to foster integrity in government and promote public trust," the letter continued. "It is for those reasons . . . that I request an immediate investigation into Speaker Sal DiMasi's activities."

Ethics Commission - Full Steam Ahead

Today, the Boston Globe reports that the "Biotech Council received subpoenas last week from the Ethics Commission seeking a broad selection of documents, including e-mail and telephone records, that would shed light on the council's decision to hire Coughlin as its new president in August, sources said."

The Patrick administration is certainly building a close and personal relationship with the ethics commission.