Editor's note: Visit our
Faces of Lakewood and Edgewater page, where YourHub.com staff and readers can introduce you to more people -- and a dog -- who make this part of the metro area what it is.
When
Bob Murphy walks into the Village Roaster in the Lakewood Commons to get his Monday afternoon latte, the barista smiles and says, "Hey, Mayor." Murphy takes a moment to greet the police officers gathered at the coffee shop with a handshake and hello.
"I'm just having a ball," Murphy says. One of the Minnesota transplant's favorite experiences as mayor so far was serving as a judge at a mock congressional hearing put on by sixth-graders at Belmar Elementary.
"It's been so rewarding for me to realize what a great bunch of people we have in our community," he says.
Murphy has lived in Colorado since 1973, and his wife,
Ina, and two children graduated from Lakewood High School. Ina is a flight attendant for United Airlines.
Erin, 25, is a middle school teacher in Jeffco Public Schools, and
Cole, 20, studies at Red Rocks Community College.
"We have a joke that orange and black runs in the blood of the Murphy family," he says.
Murphy, who took the office in November, said getting the hang of the position has been an evolving process. Having served two terms on city council, Murphy knew what he was getting into.
"So far, so good," he says. "You have to learn to manage your time very wisely."
He looks ruefully at his untouched Whole Foods sandwich, but says, "That's how it goes."
Murphy's day starts around 6:30 a.m., when he begins answering e-mails from East Coast clients for his Lakewood-based food brokerage firm, Gourmet Marketing. He usually works on business tasks in the morning before moving on to city-related issues in the afternoon. Mondays' work, especially, can last until 10 p.m. due to city council meetings and study sessions.
Another aspect of the mayor's job is the travel. The mayor is like an ambassador of the city, Murphy says, not only to neighboring municipalities, but to state and national government. In late January, he will be traveling to Washington, D.C., to accept a national award earned by the Lakewood Housing Authority and will return to D.C. in March for the National League of Cities Conference.
The mayor's schedule is a whirlwind of meetings with other officials, such as the superintendent of Jeffco Public Schools, the Metro Mayor's Caucus, state legislators and local small businesses.
But the job is not without some perks. In December, Murphy traveled from his Glens neighborhood home -where he has lived for 24 years -- to attend the White House holiday celebration and had his picture taken with
President Bush.
"It was a thrill of a lifetime. Being the history buff that I am, I was just in awe," says Murphy, who got his B.A. in history from the University of Minnesota.