Ward 5’s Barbara Murphy will serve as Malden City Council President in 2023

Seven-term Councillor says ‘Focus’ will be key theme of her leadership plan this year

  Barbara Murphy will serve the second year of her seventh term of office as Malden City Council President in 2023. Councillor Murphy was unanimously elected to the post by a 9-0 vote of the City Council at the final meeting of 2022 on December 20.

  She will succeed longtime Malden Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora in leading the Council in 2023. Councillor Murphy previously served as Council President in 2016.

  In remarks both during and after the regular meeting, Councillor Murphy said two main themes of her leadership plan as Council President this year would be “focus” and “discipline.” She also asked that the Council members center on “hope” as the New Year moves forward.

  “I have had individual conversations with all of my Council colleagues, and what we have discussed the most for this legislative year has been the need to focus on what is ahead,” Councillor Murphy said.

  The third-most senior Councillor, behind Ward 2’s Paul Condon and Councillor Spadafora, Murphy said the challenge of helping govern our “vibrant city” moving forward would be to “focus on those goals which would have the greatest impact on our Malden community.” The Ward 5 Councillor explained that to approach this goal of a renewed sense of focus, she had requested that all of the chairpersons of the Council’s standing committees that she named at the Dec. 20 meeting provide her with a list of “one to five specific goals, priorities or initiatives” they would like to achieve or establish in the coming year. “From each committee we would be able to address different topics and scope,” Councillor Murphy said. (See separate story on Council Committee appointments.)

  At the Dec. 20 Council meeting, the then Council President-elect Murphy named the members of the Standing Committees and others and after these announcements, pledged to lead the Council to goals of establishing better lines of dialogue and communication, as well as establishing clarity and discipline as key pursuits of the full Council.

  “It is my hope that we work together as a collective group to achieve goals on behalf of our community members,” Councillor Murphy said. “I will look to all of you to make sure we make clear where everyone can add value through their experience and expertise.

  “I look forward to working with all of you and I thank you so much for your trust and support in me and I look forward to doing a good job in 2003.”

  Her comments also came following the formal vote on the Councill floor to elect her as Council President. The motion to elect Councillor Murphy was made by Ward 6 Councillor Stephen Winslow, following his nomination of Murphy as a candidate. There were no other nominations.

  Murphy was elected unanimously by a 9-0 vote. Voting in favor to elect her as Council President for 2023 were Councillors Peg Crowe (Ward 1), Paul Condon (Ward 2), Amanda Linehan (Ward 3), Murphy (Ward 5), Winslow (Ward 6), Jadeane Sica (Ward 8) and Councillors-at-Large Karen Colón Hayes, Carey McDonald and Craig Spadafora. Ward 7 Councillor Chris Simonelli was absent from the meeting due to a physical injury he sustained. Ward 4 Councillor Ryan O’Malley was present for the meeting when roll call was taken at the beginning of the meeting, but he was not at his position at the City Council dais when the vote on the election of Councillor Murphy was made and, therefore, did not cast a vote.