Friends, we have some promising news. Our town council has, after spending thousands on a ‘search firm’, offered the job of town manager to J.J. Murphy. He is, as Tapinto’s headline states, a man of ”national reach.”
One, of course, should have national reach after collecting $2M in settlement from suing a previous town ‘managed’. Do not fear, our new manager should be coming without crushing debts. He is not the only one collecting from the taxpayers; the same town had to pay $5M to employees who sued over his conduct. We are also watching the status of an ongoing lawsuit where Mr. Murphy is a defendant from his time in Pasco County, FL, his most recent place of employment.
Roxbury is the 8th largest town in Morris County, and its importance is often overlooked. While some may think we can just let stuff slide, we cannot afford to tarnish our reputation.
We’re not here to oppose our new township manager. The job has been offered and accepted. We wish our new manager well and hope he does a great job. We are, however, concerned about the process that vetted him prior to offering him the job. Trying to reverse a signed contract could be expensive. We have to live with the chance of a debacle.
But there is something here that is not left to chance: the three At Large seats of our seven seat town council. All of the incumbent Republicans have enjoyed multiple re-elections by comfortable margins for many years.
If you think this is the best our town can do, that this is a good use of tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars, then by all means support the status quo.
If, however, you have a nagging sense that springing this decision days before an election smacks a bit of too much comfort for certain people, then perhaps you should consider your options. Not simply options but a duty to exercise your stewardship and judgment.
There are three seats held by incumbents who are very used to your vote and may enjoy being even more used to your votes in the future. But the future is not in their hands, it’s in yours. Three candidates, Gail Braden, Brian Considine and Allen Emmons, stand ready to serve Roxbury.
We leave it to you to decide on November 4th.
Sources:
TapintoRoxbury article with the announcement and some details:
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/roxbury/sections/government/articles/new-roxbury-manager-has-nationwide-reach-from-air-force-to-city-halls
Tampa Bay Reporting on J.J. Murphy hired as County Jail Chief:
https://www.tampabay.com/news/pasco/2022/11/16/new-pasco-county-jail-chief-faced-criticism-past-jobs/
Tampa Bay reporting on the current lawsuit:
https://www.tampabay.com/news/pasco/2025/03/31/fire-rescue-chief-anthony-perez-whistleblower-lawsuit/
Reporting on J.J. Murphy and his job in New Mexico:
https://nmpolitics.net/index/2018/03/its-time-for-the-city-of-hobbs-to-move-on/
https://www.timesleader.com/archive/112676/news-local-news-619204-w-b-days-on-mind-of-murphy