Lt. Gov.-elect Tim Murray to address Lynn Chamber

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

The annual Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce Awards Breakfast on Friday, Dec. 8 will be highlighted by an address from Tim Murray, who was elected lieutenant governor in November along with running mate Governor-elect Deval Patrick.

"We thought it was important to get Tim in here as soon as possible so that we can hear what his thoughts are and also talk to him about a couple of things that are pressing for Lynn," said LACC Executive Director Kevin Donahue.

"With help from Rep. Steve Walsh and the rest of the Lynn delegation, including Sen. Tom McGee, we were able to line this up."

Donahue said Murray visited Lynn while on the campaign trail and met with chamber executive board members to discuss his policy views and ambitions.

"I think it's great that he's coming back so soon. He's an urban mayor and from what I'm being told, he is going to be the point man on a lot of urban issues for the Deval Patrick administration. So I say, give him the floor, and hopefully he'll have a lot of good things to say about Lynn."

Murray, currently in his third term as mayor of Worcester - the state's second-largest city - is the award ceremony's keynote speaker. As the chief executive of a Massachusetts city that shares many similarities with Lynn, his views are generating local interest.

During his tenure as mayor; Murray has focused on ways to fuel economic growth, expand commuter rail service, launch an aggressive brownfields reclamation initiative, and maximize job creation and business development. He has served as chairman of the Worcester School Committee and, despite significant reductions in state aid, has worked to better the city's school system. He has built school community partnerships to lower drop-out rates, implemented school based helath programs, and strengthened after-school programs to support working families - all issues pertinent to Lynn.

Worcester's University Park Campus SChool, a unique partnership between the city and Clark University, was recently named one of the top 100 public high schools in the U.S> by Newsweek magazine.

Murray is a Worcester native, marries to the former Tammy Sullivan, with whom he has one daughter. His father taught high school and his mother worked as a registered nurse. He attended Worcester public schools and later went on to St. John's High School in Shrewsbury. He earned his bachelor's degree at Fordham University and put himself through law school by attending classes at night while working days as a substitute schoolteacher and also an advocate for homeless families. Upon taking his law degree from the Western New England School of Law he became a partner in the firm of Tatten, Leonard and Murray.

Murray was first elected to the Worcester City Council in 1997 and became mayor in 2001. Prior to his elective service, he was active in a wide range of community initiatives. For example, he served on the boards of the Worcester Public Library, Worcester Historical Museum, Worcester Community Action Council, the Worcester Working Coalition for Latino Students and Preservation Worcester.

The Awards Breakfast at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 177 Lynnfield St., begins at 7:30 a.m.

"The Awards Breakfast is the chamber's opportunity to recognize deserving local businesses and businesspeople," said Donahue. "It's pretty well sold out. There are 250 tickets and more than 200 are already gone. We won't have any trouble packing the place."

Tickets are $25 per person or $250 for a table of 10. Admission includes breakfast. To make a reservation, call the chamber at (781) 592-2900 or go online to www.LynnAreaChamber.com.