Patrick Murphy Opens New Campaign Office

Patrick Murphy, his campaign and supporters hosted an open house today in their new office. It is considerably larger than the old office, which had a sometimes startling step down at the front door. Even with the additional space it was full to overflowing today. It was surprising how many people turned out on a rainy Saturday, especially during a three day holiday weekend. Stalwart souls barbecued out front and the crowds parted every time a tray of food was brought in. This was not an easy task considering that even the hallways were packed. Murphy’s wife, parents, brother, and assorted other relatives were there but not even a large Irish Catholic family could account for all the people. One of his former students from West Point was there, as were others with a military connection to him. It was mentioned that many of those who served with him in Iraq are supporting his campaign.

John Toth, chairman of the Middletown Twp Democratic Party started off the festivities. Tony Melio, state representative from the 141st district, made a few remarks and then introduced Murphy. As usual he made a point of introducing the other candidates in attendance. In this case it was John Galloway (140th state house district), Paul Lang (6th state senate district), and Chris Serpico (10th state senate district).

One of the highlights of the event was a preview of the new television commercial for the campaign. It will start airing soon. The commercial is polished and well-produced. It is positive in nature, highlighting Murphy’s accomplishments and credentials. The visuals are effective and appealing.

I’ve said this before but it bears repeating, the people who attend Murphy’s events are nice people. All are welcome. There were babes in arms and elder statesmen. The quirks of those at both ends of the age spectrum and all in between are accepted with good humor. In any group that is too large for the available space there are likely to be some collisions, of emotion if not bodies, but none were evident when I was there. No toes were stepped on, metaphorically or physically. I had several short conversations with people and listened in on others. At a lot of political events you get resume recitals or pretentious ego buffing, but I’ve never heard any of that at Murphy events. The campaign also posts upcoming events on their website, so if you get a chance, go out and see what all the fuss is about.