SAN DIEGO (AP) – He initially declined to run for a second term, then changed his mind and fought like a bulldog in court to prove that he won last fall’s disputed election.
Now, Dick Murphy says he will resign as mayor of San Diego amid growing turmoil over his handling of a city pension scandal that has roiled the nation’s seventh-largest city. The 62-year-old former judge said he will leave office July 15.
“When I ran for re-election, I had hoped that my second term would as productive as my first but that now seems unlikely,” Murphy said at a news conference. “It is clear the city needs a fresh start.”
The announcement stunned City Hall and heralded what will likely be a nasty battle over how to replace Murphy. City Attorney Michael Aguirre said the City Council could appoint someone until the next general election in June 2006 or call a special vote to finish Murphy’s term.
Donna Frye, the surf shop owner and maverick city councilwoman who nearly ousted Murphy after a write-in campaign last fall, said she would run in a special election.
Murphy’s undoing proved to be a $1.37-billion deficit in the city’s pension fund – partly the result of a 2002 decision to enhance pension benefits while cutting contributions to the retirement system. The pension debacle is the subject of 14-month-old investigations by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission – as well as near-daily quarrels between the mayor’s allies and critics, including an aggressive new city attorney who called for him to quit earlier this month.
The announcement comes just months after a bruising re-election battle in which Murphy pulled out a 2,108-vote victory over Frye. The councilwoman contended more votes were cast for her, but thousands of the write-in ballots were disqualified under a state law. Following a series of legal challenges, Murphy was sworn into office on Dec. 8.
Murphy also cited his accomplishments as mayor, including the creation of an ethics commission, new libraries, establishing an airport authority, a new downtown baseball ballpark and reduced sewer spills. But his announcement was an acknowledgment that the problems overshadowing his administration had made him ineffective.
At the end of his short statement, he hugged his family and left the news conference to the applause of his staff. He did not take any questions from reporters.
Murphy initially declined to seek re-election last year, saying he wished to focus on helping San Diego rather than put his attention on a campaign. Business leaders, however, rallied in support of him and persuaded Murphy to run.
The city’s outside auditor, KPMG, has warned it cannot complete its audit of the city’s 2003 books until an investigation is launched into whether city officials committed illegal acts. The lack of complete audits for 2003 and 2004, coupled with the ongoing investigations, has hobbled the city’s ability to issue bonds, putting vital water and sewer projects on hold and threatening library and fire station construction. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has suspended the city’s credit rating.
Even Murphy supporters said it was time for him to go.
“There was a gradual sense among the electorate that not enough was being done to address the problems aggressively,” said April Boling, a former Murphy campaign treasurer who led his advisory panel on how to fix the pension mess. “Something needed to happen.”
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