CoMo Mayoral candidate Blair Murphy

COLUMBIA, 1/18/25 (Beat Byte)  --  Columbia Mayoral candidate Blair Murphy last week answered a key question on voters' minds: What's your plan? Three broad categories guide his campaign platform, with two to three details in each category. 

If a candidate's plan is food for critics, Murphy's ideas are a feast on Reddit, a last frontier of anonymous argument. "Blair Murphy possibly has the vaguest platform I’ve ever seen from a local candidate," blares a Monday post from ColumbiaMo Redditeer OverActivity8312, a frequent Murphy detractor and avowed supporter of the incumbent.

Affordable housing starts with safe neighborhoods. Two thirds of Murphy's platform -- public safety and neighborhood development -- mirrors that idea. "A safer Columbia is a stronger Columbia," he explains on his website. "Strong neighborhoods and affordable housing are the backbone of a thriving city." City Hall policies that favor home ownership in affordable neighborhoods, Murphy claims, are a platform lynchpin.

With vocal support for police at a naggingly-persistent low, the candidate wants to improve public safety with public engagement, citing at least two approaches. The mayor who "fosters community partnerships" can stand in front of the cameras with the police chief, clergy, activists, neighbors, and small business owners to both condemn the latest drug-related shooting and promote efforts to root out "the root causes of crime."

Columbia Mayor Brian Treece used community partnerships and the "public pulpit" to promote public safety, a favorite strategy of Kansas City Mayor Sly James. James presented his crime-fighting public engagement practices to then-Columbia Mayor Bob McDavid at a 2016 conference. Hopes were high Columbia might at least try the James method as part of a community anti-violence push. But those hopes, like the push, faded away.


At the heart of Columbia's "full service" mandate, infrastructure is category three on the Murphy platform.

A regular source of complaints for residents, visitors, and voters, our city's roads, bridges, utilities, bus system, and water quality often headline the news for the wrong reasons. Giant potholes make funny Facebook memes. Power line snafus that reek of incompetence keep journalists like Mike Murphy busy. And though our water quality has attracted celebrity attention, there are no bragging rights in claiming Erin Brockovich as that celebrity.

Murphy wants to "prioritize the modernization of our roads, bridges, and public utilities," once in the Mayor's chair. "From improving transportation to ensuring clean and reliable water systems, Murph will make the city’s infrastructure a top priority."

For voters interested in the Big Vision, a Mayor Blair Murphy says his big picture role will be "fostering community development that benefits residents across the city." Given Columbia's segregated past, with black neighborhoods and schools kept separate -- and unequal -- spreading City Hall's love instead of its eminent domain powers should resonate. "Murph's goal is to ensure that every neighborhood feels supported and connected."

Blair Murphy faces Tanya Heath and incumbent Mayor Barbara Buffaloe in the April elections.

Click to visit: 

Murph for Mayor on Facebook

Murph for Mayor website