Tag Archives: Joseph Murphy

March 2, 2016 · 12:53 pm

Saying Farewell To A Community Servant: City Attorney To Retire

South Milwaukee is blessed to have many people who have dedicated their lives to serving their community. No one fits that description more than Joseph Murphy.

SM Common Council for Website 6-9-15-10That’s why it was sad, albeit not surprising, to hear that Joe is retiring after serving more than 34 years as South Milwaukee city attorney. The Common Council accepted his retirement letter, effective May 31, on Tuesday.

Joe leaves behind a legacy of professionalism, hard work, dedication and wisdom — and a commitment to doing what’s right. He was a trusted adviser for me, and I will miss his counsel and guidance on issues big and small.

The Murphy family legacy is even greater. Joe’s mother was among the founders of Human Concerns, and I can’t think of a better example of the family’s desire to make South Milwaukee a better place for all people.

Now, we begin the search for Joe’s successor. We will start by exploring hiring a firm to perform these services, and I’ll keep you posted as we move forward.

You will recall that the city attorney position is no longer elected. The council made that job, and those of the city clerk and treasurer, appointed, effective in 2017, although we accelerated that date last year, when Joe informed us he was moving out of South Milwaukee. Then came word of his pending retirement over the weekend.

I wish Joe nothing but the best, and I can’t think of a better message than this: Thank you.

2 Comments

Filed under City Council, South Milwaukee

Tagged as ,

May 6, 2015 · 8:07 pm

Appointing Our City Attorney

Joseph Murphy has been elected South Milwaukee’s city attorney 17 times, and he’s ably served in that role for more than 33 years.

I consider him a trusted advisor, who I lean on for sound, reasonable advice on a variety of issues. He works hard to make sure the city is protected from threats, and he stands up, and behind, the work we do as a city government every day.

I am happy to say he will continue doing that work, just not as an elected official.

Attorney Murphy is moving to Milwaukee, which means he’s resigning his elected seat. However, the city council — recognizing his skill in the job, his desire to keep serving in it, and the will of the voters — appointed Joe to the role of city attorney as their meeting on Tuesday.

This means Joe will be an employee of the city, in a role similar to that of our other department heads.

I support this move because I think we get to keep a great attorney with a deep knowledge and passion for our city in that job.

It’s also something we planned to do soon anyway. You will recall the council voted last year to make the role of city attorney – as well as those of city clerk and city treasurer – non-elected jobs starting in 2017. This moves up that date two years for the attorney.

I thank Joe for his continued service and wish he and his wife Kitty well in their move.

3 Comments

Filed under City Council, South Milwaukee

Tagged as ,

April 3, 2012 · 11:46 pm

South Milwaukee Election Results: No Real Surprises As Incumbents Roll

It was a night for incumbents in South Milwaukee.

No challengers — write-in or otherwise — were able to unseat sitting local leaders in the administration, on the City Council or on the South Milwaukee School Board.

Here are the local results:

  • South Milwaukee Mayor Tom Zepecki easily won a fourth term, beating write-in candidates Michael Moeller and Todd Lorino. Zepecki had 78% of the vote to Lorino’s 18.4% and Moeller’s 1.8%.
  • In the First District, incumbent Alderman Frank Van Dusen III cruised past Moeller, also running as a write-in for that seat, 95.1% to 3.8%.
  • Other local offices were uncontested, with City Clerk Jim Shelenske, City Treasurer Karen Skowronski, City Attorney Joseph Murphy and Municipal Judge Bill Fenger all winning re-election.
  • On the South Milwaukee School Board, incumbents David Maass (38.9%) and Kathleen Molus (32.8%) won re-election, with challenger Sophia Williams coming in third (28.3%).

Also winning re-election was County Supervisor Pat Jursik, who was running unopposed. In the locally contested Milwaukee County court races, Carolina Stark and Lindsey Grady won large majorities in South Milwaukee.

See all local results in this PDF document … and post your comments below!

(See a post on Republican presidential primary results here.)

3 Comments

Filed under 2012 Elections

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,