Four years ago when he sought his City Council seat, gay Pinole resident Devin Murphy was facing the prospect of having to campaign amid the COVID pandemic when most in-person activities were curtailed. Then came the filing deadline that August when Murphy and another person were the only ones to seek the two council seats up that fall.
Thus, they were assured of winning. Now seeking a second, four-year term Murphy is facing a contested election. Three people, including the other council member elected in 2020 and a city planning commissioner, filed to run for the two seats up this year.
"I am confident in the work I have done and confident in the relationships I have built," Murphy, 31, told the Bay Area Reporter during a recent phone interview about his candidacy. "I still have got to do the work and go door to door and continue to listen to my constituents."
The East Bay city of nearly 20,000 people elects its five council members citywide. If Murphy wins his race, he will be able to seek a third term in 2028 and then must cycle off the council in 2032 under Pinole's term limit rules before standing for election again.
"It has been literally the time of my life. I have been able to focus on issues that matter to so many people in Pinole," Murphy said of the last four years.
Murphy, who grew up in San Francisco's predominantly African American Bayview neighborhood, is one of a handful of LGBTQ Black elected leaders in the Bay Area. In December 2022 Murphy took over his city's ceremonial mayor position for a yearlong term, becoming the first Black person, gay person, and youngest person to serve in the role.
Having volunteered on Vice President Kamala Harris' U.S. Senate race in 2016, he told the B.A.R. he is excited to now share being on a ballot with her as the Democratic presidential nominee this year.
"I am ecstatic," said Murphy, hired this month to be a lead organizer with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 union. "I am very excited to see more dynamic leadership from the Bay Area."
Murphy had been a member of the Lambda Democratic Club of Contra Costa County and served as its first Black president prior to his election. He is the second gay Pinole councilmember, as San Francisco Sheriff's Department Captain Stephen Tilton was elected in 2006 but recalled in 2008 following the council's ousting of a popular city manager.
"I am really looking forward to reelection to Pinole City Council. One term is not necessarily enough to continue all of the projects that come from the promises I made in the last campaign," said Murphy.
Among his achievements, Murphy pointed to the council adopting on August 20 the city's first-ever climate action and adaptation plan that he had championed. Murphy also pointed to his helping in 2021 to secure $2 million in county funds to repair the Pinole Fire Station No. 74 that had sat unused for 13 years and reopened during his mayoralty.
He has also voted over the last two years to approve 600 new units of affordable housing in Pinole and another 117 townhomes and condos. It allowed the city to meet its 500 units of new housing the state has required it to build by 2030, said Murphy, who added the council is now focused on bringing in housing for people with very low incomes.
"We have been very diligent and strategic about how we build affordable housing in Pinole," said Murphy. "We were one of the early cities to get our housing element certified by the state."
This fall, Murphy is one of at least four out city council candidates in Contra Costa County. Lesbian BART director Rebecca Saltzman is running in El Cerrito, queer advocate Laura Patch is running in Walnut Creek, and gay tech leader Pablo Benavente is running in Concord.
Last December, statewide LGBTQ advocacy group Equality California and national group the LGBTQ Victory Fund both endorsed Murphy's reelection bid. More recently, the Contra Costa Labor Council joined the list of his union endorsers; it also is backing his council colleague, Maureen Toms, currently Pinole's mayor, in the race. The other candidate is Christy Lam-Julian.
"I do bring a lot of ideas to the table. People know me in my community for that," said Murphy. "I am also known for having a budget watchdog focus and keen oversight of city staff in terms of how they are doing their work. It doesn't rub everyone the right way all the time. But I do know my north star and what I am here for."
To learn more about Murphy and his candidacy, visit his campaign website at murphyforpinole.com.
East Bay Dem club hosts Pride breakfast
During its 11th annual Pride Breakfast next month, the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club will honor Alameda County Board of Education Vice President Angela Normand, a Black lesbian who won reelection to her Trustee Area 2 seat in the March primary. She is one of two out leaders on the countywide body, serving alongside gay Trustee Joaquin J. Rivera.
Normand is to receive the Alameda County LGBTQ political group's inaugural Peggy Moore Trailblazer Award. Moore, a longtime club member, and her wife, Hope Wood, died in May following a head-on collision on State Route 76 in unincorporated San Diego County.
"I am so honored," stated Normand, a former Marine who worked as a special education teacher. "I met Peggy Moore at a Black lesbian retreat more than 20 years ago, and we bonded over our shared love of photography."
Moore, a well-known campaign consultant and political staffer, was one of the first people Normand contacted when she decided to first seek her education post.
"She told me, 'Against a strong incumbent, I hope you are ready,'" recalled Normand, who defeated the county board's then-vice president in 2020 in her first bid for elected office.
Stonewall political action committee chair Ryan LaLonde said the county is "lucky" that Normand is leading the charge to protect the LGBTQ community's rights at a time when issues involving queer and trans students have come under particular attack.
"Angela's leadership on the County Board of Education and on the California Teachers Association Governing Board is why we have seen attempts to erode queer rights fail," stated LaLonde, a gay dad who serves on the school board in the city of Alameda. "Also, as a former special education teacher, she has always been an advocate for students who need true equity in services and programs."
Stonewall will also present its Youth Leader Award to lesbian Alameda County Democratic Party Secretary Annie Koruga. Its Ally Award will be presented to the Alameda County Library and its drag storytime program. And the club's Changemaker Award will be given to the backers of the recall campaign that ousted last month two anti-LGBTQ Sunol Glen United School District members. (One of them, Ryan Jergensen, is running for his old seat in November, according to the Independent.)
Another new memorial award honoring a past club leader will also be handed out at the breakfast gala. The Alicia Kester LGBTQ Creative Award will be given to the Oakland-based ABO Comix — Queer Prison Project. It honors Kester, a queer Black, mixed-race playwright, poet, fiction writer, and filmmaker who passed away last December.
The theme of this year's breakfast is "Speak Out!" to reinforce the need for LGBTQ people to have a seat at the table when it comes to public policy.
"The only way for us to continue to see positive policies being created that uplift and protect LGBTQ people is for us to be in power and in the room," noted Stonewall board chair Matt Lardner.
The breakfast will be held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Sunday, September 8, at LGBTQ nightlife venue Fluid510 at 1544 Broadway in downtown Oakland. Afterward, the club will march in the Oakland Pride parade.
The event doors open at 8:30 a.m. with the program beginning at 9. Following the breakfast, members of EBSDC and event guests will participate in the Oakland Pride parade as well as have a booth at the Pride festival.
Tickets for the breakfast cost $25 for club members, students, and seniors or $50 for non-members. They can be purchased at eastbaystonewalldemocrats.org/events.
UPDATED 9/3/2024 to correctly refer to the namesake of the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club's Alicia Kester LGBTQ Creative Award after the LGBTQ political group initially sent out inaccurate information about the multi-faceted artist.
Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column reported on a Cathedral City council race with two gay entrants.
Keep abreast of the latest LGBTQ political news by following the Political Notebook on Threads @ https://www.threads.net/@matthewbajko.
Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected]
Never miss a story! Keep up to date on the latest news, arts, politics, entertainment, and nightlife.
Sign up for the Bay Area Reporter's free weekday email newsletter. You'll receive our newsletters and special offers from our community partners.
Support California's largest LGBTQ newsroom. Your one-time, monthly, or annual contribution advocates for LGBTQ communities. Amplify a trusted voice providing news, information, and cultural coverage to all members of our community, regardless of their ability to pay -- Donate today!