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.