When City Councilman Mark Murphy was elected mayor of Orange in 2000, the margin of victory was razor thin. With close to 37,000 votes cast, Murphy won by 280.
The campaign had been especially bitter as the city was embroiled in a debate over the merits of open space versus a 1,700-home development, a scandal over a trash company that cheated Orange of $4.3 million, and the historic renovation of the city’s beloved plaza.
Four years later, Murphy handily won reelection, a referendum on both his popularity and his ability to build consensus for the sake of the community. Nicknamed “Mr. Orange,” he was among the city’s fiercest boosters, frequenting antique car shows, the May Parade in Olde Towne and playing guitar at the city’s Concerts in the Park.
The veteran politician, who served as mayor for a third term in 2018, has died at age 67, according to city officials. No cause of death was given.
Named Orange’s Citizen of the Year in 2010, Murphy was a lifelong resident of the city, which he described on a Facebook post as “the best place to live, work and raise a family.” An account manager for Hewlett-Packard for 33 years until he retired in 2022, Murphy juggled his responsibilities to his clients alongside his duty to the city.
At a time when no-growth and slow-growth initiatives helped shaped politics in Orange County, Murphy was able to walk the line between meeting residents’ demands for more urban parks and the growing need for housing.
A graduate of USC, Murphy was named to the city’s planning commission in 1990, and three years later, he was elected to Orange City Council, a position he held three times over nearly three decades. In 1998, he was Orange County’s “Local Elected Official of the Year.”
He served on the Orange County Transportation Authority board in 2017 and was named OCTA chairman in 2022.
A Republican and member of the National Rush Limbaugh Fan Club, Murphy was not one to broadcast his conservative credentials. He once cited his favorite book as David Gergen’s “Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership From Nixon to Clinton,” and his platforms often centered on core issues, including public safety, business growth and property rights.
He was proud of his work developing parks in the city, including the construction of the Grijalva Park gymnasium and sports center and the expansion of the city’s main library.
In 2022, he argued for the need to secure additional funds for public safety while acquiring space for parks, trails and open space.
“These resources must be secured through business prosperity and never through tax increases for our residents,” he told the Orange County Register.
When he lost his reelection campaign for mayor in 2022, he posted on Facebook a note of gratitude.
“It has been said that ‘politics creates very few friends and a whole lot of acquaintances,’” he wrote. “I feel truly fortunate for all of the friends that I have made as a part of this experience.”
Married for almost 30 years, Murphy and his wife, Vikki, were active in the YMCA and Orangewood Children’s Home.
“I’ve been blessed with so much in my life,” Murphy once said. “Everyone should have the kind of opportunities I’ve had growing up in Orange. Maybe I’ll be fortunate that when I’m 70, some kid I’ve helped now will look back and say, ‘I’m still friends with Mark Murphy.’ That would be the greatest tribute I could ever receive.”
Murphy is survived by Vikki and his mother, Lois.