As Brianne Murphy was growing up, her mother was a strong union supporter who always advocated for fair wages and equal employment, among other causes.

‘Any cause she believed in, she was out there,’ Murphy said.

But now Murphy is taking her activism one step further than her mother and entering the world of politics for the first time, something she didn’t plan to do until she attended a women’s leadership conference last year.

Murphy, a Syracuse lawyer, officially announced her candidacy to run against Dan Maffei in the 2012 Democratic primary for the 25th Congressional District seat last week. Although Murphy has a severe fundraising disadvantage, she said she believes her ability to talk to people and discover their issues is what sets her apart from Maffei and makes her a viable candidate.

But Murphy didn’t originally think she needed to run for office to ‘do good in the world,’ which is why she decided to attend law school.

She later became a labor and employment attorney and has worked on many cases involving wrongful termination, sexual harassment and fair wages.

Last year when Republican Ann Marie Buerkle edged out Maffei for the 25th Congressional District seat, Murphy said she was upset because she thought that Buerkle’s values ‘were out of touch with those of Central New York’s.’

Nonetheless, Murphy said she was satisfied with the career path she had chosen until she attended a women’s leadership conference last year that altered her view of both her life and the country.

‘One of the speakers goes, ‘Who here wants to run for office?’ and I turned to my friend and said, ‘You couldn’t pay me enough,” Murphy recalled.

But then the speaker went on to convey the message, ‘If not now, when? And if not you, who?’

‘It really struck a cord with me because I thought if I was unwilling to go out there, put my ego aside and run, then who am I to say that Buerkle’s doing a bad job?’ Murphy said.

She toyed with the idea of running for office for about a year, and last week, she made it official. Murphy said she plans to use her ‘people skills’ to her advantage, going around the district, talking to as many people as possible and identifying their biggest issues and concerns.

‘I think people want someone who’s in touch with what they need and want,’ Murphy said.

She said meeting people around the district and getting to know them on a personal level is something Maffei lacks.

Murphy has significantly less funding than Maffei thus far, in part because she is new to the campaign.

As of Sept. 30, Murphy had $28,937 in campaign funds compared to $242,461 for Maffei, according to the Federal Election Commission. Even with the cash deficit, Murphy said she isn’t too concerned.

‘It’s an arms race at this point. There’s no set amount of money you need to win a campaign,’ she said. ‘Buerkle is the one I need to worry about. You just need enough money to be a viable candidate.’

Jeffrey Stonecash, a political science professor at Syracuse University, said he thinks Murphy’s decision to run is a little strange.

‘I think it’s an odd situation in that Maffei really has far better resources and connections,’ Stonecash said. ‘But some people are uneasy about his ability to present himself in public, so I can see where there would be an opportunity there.’

Stonecash also said 2012 is a good year for minorities and lower-income voters to come out and vote, so Murphy may have a shot. But he said Murphy is really going to need to go out and talk to voters as soon as possible.

Said Stonecash: ‘Money is very important, but it’s also important to tell people who you are; tell people you exist.’

hawentz@syr.edu 

Published on December 6, 2011 at 12:00 pm