Meet Adam Murphy

May 2, 2023

ROCHESTER — Two candidates are running for one seat on the Rochester Select Board.

Marion Deputy Harbormaster and Shellfish Officer Adam Murphy is running for a seat on the Rochester Select Board for a third time this coming election.

“I lost by one vote last year and I was up in the air about pursuing it again but 49.99% of the town was on board with what I was thinking and what I had to say, so I kind of owe it to the town as well as myself to continue to pursue [the position],” he said.

With 20 years of experience in public safety including a stint as a Marion firefighter, Murphy said he believes his knowledge of “the inner works of public safety” has helped to prepare him for the responsibilities of serving on the Select Board.

Murphy said that in his current role as Deputy Harbormaster he is responsible for creating and following budgets and has been on the “frontline for the process of designing and engineering the new Harbormaster building” in Marion.

“I spent a lot of time finding unique and creative ways to cut costs,” he said.

Murphy hopes to use his budgeting skills to revitalize Rochester’s public safety buildings by focusing on “needs” rather than “wants.”

“We need to study the influx of what's coming down the road and create a plan that the town can afford to do,” he said.

Murphy explained that he observed that a drop in residential building has led to a dip in town revenue and expressed concern about Rochester’s status as a Green Community.

“My perspective is: never mind the town buildings, if we have residents that can't build their houses or can't renovate their houses that's a real problem,” he said, noting that the number of building permits in Rochester have declined.

As a parent of two children, Murphy hopes to bring representation of working middle class families to the board.

“I feel [that], as the middle class and the working group of Rochester, our voices aren't projected through the Board of Selectmen because they don't live [in] the Rochester that I live in,” he said.

In addition to bringing a different perspective to the Select Board, Murphy hopes to provide “transparent communication” between the Select Board and Rochester residents.

“If I'm elected, I'll have social media that I can be reached on and my cell phone [number] will be on the town's website because anybody that votes for me, I can assure them that I will listen to what they have to say,” he said.

Murphy is facing challenger incumbent Woody Hartley for a seat on the Rochester Select Board in the town election on Wednesday, May 24.