Mark Murphy (Photo: Facebook)
Mark Murphy, an aide to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, has been publicly mulling a potential run against Republican Congressman Michael Grimm for some time, but City & State reports that he’s resigned from the Public Advocate’s office in advance of his upcoming Congressional run.
Insiders have long expected Mr. Murphy to take the plunge in the Staten Island-based district. “It’s so obvious, I don’t even know what to say,” one Democrat in the district said when asked why he thought Mr. Murphy would run for Congress. “The fact that he’s been showing up at various community functions on both sides of the bridge, makes me think that he’s going to announce in the near future,” another local Democrat recalled last week. “From a lot of the talks behind the scenes, it seems that he’s been reaching out to community leaders and political leaders, indicating his intentions to run in 2012.”
Mr. Murphy has yet to officially made his intentions clear, but a source said that the announcement would be coming soon.
Although taking on Congressman Grimm, who was first elected in 2010, won’t be a simple task, Democrats argue that Congressman Grimm’s record will provide the basis for a successful campaign against him. “Grimm has taken a lot of votes that are, frankly, out of step with the values of the district,” a Democrat familiar with Mr. Murphy’s upcoming campaign said, citing the Congressman’s support for the Ryan Plan and his opposition to a temporary payroll tax extension.
The source also argued that Mr. Murphy would have an advantage in being a rigorous campaigner. ”It’s scary and exhausting going door-to-door with him,” he chuckled.
Follow Colin Campbell on Twitter or via RSS. ccampbell@observer.com
Failed cable TV actor, failed real estate agent, hasn’t lived on Staten Island for 20 years. Works for chief architect of the Dinkins administration where Mayor Dinkins was probably the most hated anti-Staten Island Mayor in history. What a joke!
Why are all Democrats liars? Grimm favored a long term extension of payroll tax payroll tax relief. How can you support a long term extension if you are not opposed to a shorter one?
Healthalicious! Hi Aaron.
My name is not Aaron and you’re scratching at straws that didn’t work for McMahon. Murphy has been gone for decades and has only come back here for a patronage job on our dime. What do we need a stranger who lives with his daddy running for Congress for?
Reality check: Murphy was in 9 movies before he started his own production company. That’s not bad by LA standards. And he was never a Real Estate Agent. And, while he lived off Island for awhile, like four generations of Murphys, he is a Staten Islander. I can only assume the writer works for Michael Grimm.
Grimm will still kick ASS, regardless who they throw at him!!