Council needs to move on
It was yet another week with an empty seat on the City Council dais
Tuesday.
That makes five council meetings since Councilwoman Stacey
Murphy’s arrest on July 13 on suspicion of cocaine possession and
child endangerment, which she pleaded not guilty to Thursday in
Pasadena Superior Court.
Days after being arrested, Murphy sent a statement to the council
and the city apologizing for the “distraction” and saying that she
would be absent from the meetings until her Aug. 25 initial court
appearance, but did intend to fulfill the job to which she was
elected.
With that day having just come and gone we have not yet heard from
Murphy. Will she return? Or will she delay that return until the
trial is concluded and the verdict read?
Some constituents have already called, on these very pages, for
Murphy’s resignation. But Murphy deserves her day in court. She
should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Residents must be patient, and give Murphy -- who has served
Burbank well in her public life -- a chance to defend herself.
But Burbank deserves a full and attentive council.
Already this week the council has run into the trouble with a
four-person council: a tie. The city needs to be able to conduct its
business.
If she is not going to return until after the verdict is returned
then we certainly hope the trial is expedited. The council can only
be expected to continue as is for so long. If it looks like this case
will drag on, as so many do, the council will have to make that tough
call.
Murphy has certainly done a lot for this city, but the council is
not elected to watch out for Murphy, but for the residents who will
eventually suffer from a partial council that is struggling to keep
its focus.
The pressure of the case is already showing.
“It’s tough to sit there and concentrate on the issues of the
evening when 15 channels are there,” City Manager Mary Alvord told
The Leader this week.
Alvord said the council meetings have been productive and that
officials are “trying to stay focused.”
“Trying”?
Murphy herself has vowed to come back after her arraignment and
fulfill the job she was elected -- for a third term -- to do.
But how long can this last under the pressure of her trial and
that of her longtime friend, Scott Schaffer, of Glendale, whose
alleged involvement with the Vineland Boyz street gang led
investigators to Murphy.
Will she miss more meetings? What will happen on nights like last
Tuesday, when the council debated turning the old Buena Vista library
into a child care center. Murphy has voiced opposition to its revamp,
opting for a community center instead, but the council ended up
voting for it. Could her input have made a difference in the outcome
of that vote, which was 3 to 1 for a child care center? What about on
nights when a tie needs to be broken?
“When you have those contentious and difficult issues that come
up, that is when we will miss having that fifth person,” Mayor Jef
Vander Borght told The Leader after her arrest.
Many, again on these pages, have also expressed support for
Murphy, whose lack of a criminal record prompted the exoneration of a
$100,000 bail Thursday.
Many public officials whose legal troubles have been very public
have fought back successfully to regain their good names. But as the
facts of these cases come out, the business of the city should also
remain a priority, and should not be sacrificed.
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