"Murray moves into a much lower-profile position, although one that is expected to pay him more than $200,000, significantly more than the approximately $125,000 he now makes"
I gue$$ crime does pay in Ma$$achu$etts -- if you peddle political influence.
"Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray resigns" by Jim O’Sullivan, Michael Levenson and Frank Phillips | Globe Staff, May 22, 2013
Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray, considered a front-runner for governor until a string of controversies tarnished his political standing, abruptly announced his resignation Wednesday, saying he will leave the administration in June to lead the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce....
Controversies over his ties to a disgraced local official and an early morning car accident have hobbled him politically since late 2011.
The departure is the latest and most robust sign of the Patrick administration’s lame-duck status....
Patrick contested that lame-duck characterization Wednesday at the State House press conference....
Murray moves into a much lower-profile position, although one that is expected to pay him more than $200,000, significantly more than the approximately $125,000 he now makes, Patrick officials said....
Murray dismissed the notion that his ties to former Chelsea Housing Authority chief Michael McLaughlin — who raised money for Murray’s campaign and earlier this year pleaded guilty to federal felony charges of concealing his salary — or his November 2011 car accident had fueled his decision. A longtime advocate for the homeless, Murray assailed McLaughlin’s behavior.
Does he have to lie about it?
Murray said he initially dismissed the chamber’s offer, but grew more enthusiastic when officials there discussed their plans to enhance the group’s performance and highlight the areas’ innovation economy. His political woes, he said, were not a factor.
And when he $aw the $alary.
“People are going to believe what they want to believe, but to me this is a right fit and a right decision,” Murray said at the press conference....
At the press conference, Patrick joked about Murray’s departure....
They really don't get it over there.
Worcester political and business circles started buzzing late Tuesday about the prospect of Murray, who has remained popular in the area after three terms as mayor, taking the chamber post. Many in the region feel that Murray’s fate on Beacon Hill is symbolic of Worcester’s treatment at the hands of the state’s Boston-centered power structure.
Lou DiNatale, a Worcester-area based Democratic operative, said Murray’s tough sledding in Massachusetts politics is symbolic of what many in that city feel is the “continued Boston bias against Worcester.”
Related(?): Hush in the Massachusetts House
Try living way the f*** out here.
“What Tim Murray bumped into is the invisible shield that prevents Worcester political figures from breaking into the Boston-based political world,” DiNatale said....
Yeah, forget about the political and campaign corruption. It's all politics!
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Related:
"An unsurprising end to Murray’s once-promising political career" May 23, 2013
The announcement Wednesday that Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray will resign to lead the Worcester Chamber of Commerce mainly served to ratify what most on Beacon Hill basically knew: that his recent political scandals had left him without a path to higher office, while his current duties were too limited to sustain an ambitious person’s career.
Poor fella! Just follow the road the back to Worce$ter then.
Murray’s departure ends an awkward chapter in Massachusetts political history.
Not really. This state has always been rife with political corruption.
Any hopes he had of using his current office as a platform for a gubernatorial campaign were dashed by his connection to Michael McLaughlin, a longstanding political fixer who allegedly plundered the Chelsea Housing Authority for his own gain — and apparently ran an improper political fundraising operation on Murray’s behalf. Under different circumstances, Murray might have been the front-runner to replace Governor Deval Patrick, who isn’t running again in 2014. But....
His role within the administration hasn’t been benign. By some accounts, making sure political supporters are rewarded with jobs has been his responsibility; Murray’s efforts to secure a state job for McLaughlin’s son provide some evidence in that direction.
And he's getting a.... rai$e?
For his part, Patrick has fiercely defended his lieutenant governor at every turn, but the kind of back-scratching evident in the McLaughlin scandals is precisely what undermines support for the activist government Patrick promised and Massachusetts needs....
That's why we quit believing in him and it a long time ago.
Even after leaving state government, Murray will still need to answer any questions that might arise from inquiries into McLaughlin’s activities. In the meantime, the lieutenant governor’s departure lands him in a substantial role for which he seems well suited: as a champion of the state’s second-largest city, a city to which his devotion has never been in doubt.
I'm also sure he likes the fit of the $uit. What a great public servant!
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Also see: Murray’s ambition meets reality
It's calle a rai$e.
UPDATE: Murray assumes top office briefly
