Challengers to House Speaker John B. Harwood were feeling pretty strong on the Sunday before the November 5 election.

On a day's notice, more than 20 Democratic legislators met that evening at the Wiggin Village Community Room in Providence to discuss the future leadership of the House. By a show of hands, seven of those present wanted to be speaker, according to legislators who attended. Openness and inclusiveness were discussed, but despite the urging of state Representatives Charlene Lima (D-Providence) and Peter Wasylyk (D-Providence), a leadership team was not selected. With numerous House Democrats not present and the election two days away, many of the lawmakers wanted to wait before choosing new leaders.

The group did agree to invite all of the Democratic House members to a meeting three days later, the Wednesday after the election, for a full discussion of House leadership and reform.

State Representative Anastasia Williams (D-Providence), who arranged the meeting, was enthusiastic about the sense that everyone would stick together. "I was like, `Wow, this is great,' " she recalls. But Williams now feels misled by some of those at the gathering, whom she chooses not to name. They made deals and cut her and others out of the leadership discussion, she says.

State Representative Rene Menard (D-Lincoln), who served as deputy whip under Harwood, had a different reaction to the meeting. "I actually sat back and laughed," Menard says, when seven representatives indicated their desire to become speaker (Wasylyk; Representatives Paul Crowley (D-Newport); Elizabeth Dennigan (D-East Providence); John DeSimone (D-Providence); Frank Montanaro (D-Cranston); David Caprio (D-Narragansett); and Joseph Voccola (D-Johnston), according to several who were present). "I said to myself, `Is this a meeting about consensus or is it about self-interest?' " It was clear, Menard says, that the group didn't include a viable candidate.

On Election Day, Menard talked with state Representative William Murphy (D-West Warwick). Judging Murphy as "honest, hard-working and intelligent," and receiving a commitment that he would have a leadership post under Murphy, Menard backed him and brought several other legislators to the Murphy camp. Meanwhile, the election results came in -- the House Republicans made no gains. There were few upsets and the incumbents who had controlled the House of Representatives for 10 years were re-elected. Even Harwood managed to maintain his representative's seat, after a close challenge from write-in candidate Bruce Bayuk. Voters wanted the legislature adjusted, perhaps, but not completely overhauled.

Harwood's decision not to run for speaker (he told Menard two weeks prior to the election, Menard says) made matters much easier for his supporters, according to Caprio, who ran a high-profile campaign for speaker. By supporting Murphy, they could satisfy voter demands to remove Harwood, while avoiding the upheaval that might cost them committee assignments, commission appointments, and leadership positions.

The group that had met on the Sunday before the election -- which represented 28 of the 32 Democratic votes necessary to elect a speaker, according to another attendee, state Representative Donald Reilly (D-Cumberland) -- collapsed. The planned Wednesday meeting was never held. Instead, on the Thursday after the election, House Democrats elected Murphy, 39, as speaker and liberal state Representative Gordon Fox (D-Providence), 41, as majority leader. Murphy says Menard's support put him over the top and ensured his victory. Menard was elected whip, the number three leadership post, and Lima was elected deputy whip.

Murphy's election, combined with the victory of Republican Governor Donald Carcieri and the 2000 ascension of state Senator William Irons (D-East Providence) to Senate majority leader (and soon to the newly created position of Senate president) gives Rhode Island its most conservative state leadership in more than a decade. An opponent of gay rights, abortion rights, and gun control, and a supporter of tax breaks for the wealthy, Murphy is a conservative Democrat with a twist. In his 10 years as a legislator, the criminal-defense lawyer has consistently backed legal rights for criminal defendants.

In 1993, the election of the conservative Harwood as speaker, rather than the liberal state Representative Russell Bramley (D-Warwick), eased the way for major cuts in social welfare programs. As freshmen legislators, Murphy and Fox backed Harwood. A decade later, they are in charge and the state again faces a revenue shortage that may force them to consider major cuts in social programs.

Although the House's elevation of Murphy will have a major impact on state government and public policy, it wasn't an ideological decision. Beleaguered on the campaign trail by constituents demanding Harwood's removal, legislators needed to make a change to restore public confidence in the legislature, but not too big a change. Voicing an opinion shared by many others, state Representative Edith Ajello (D-Providence) says Murphy and Fox "are not outsiders, they're insiders." And she adds that their election has "the appearance of a handoff" from Harwood.

Murphy gently responds, "I don't think that characterization is entirely accurate." In winning the speakership, he says, he garnered more than 50 of the Democratic votes, representing support from all the House factions. "We were able to get a new leadership without shedding any blood, which is an accomplishment in these times," Murphy says. He is also pleased to have captured the speakership without enlisting Republican support, as Harwood did in 1993. As for the Sunday meeting, Murphy minimizes it, saying, "It may have been the last-ditch effort by some of my opponents."

In interviews with 12 current and former legislators, the Phoenix found that Murphy's major strength was the support of Harwood's core loyalists, legislators like conservative committee chairmen Brian Kennedy (D-Hopkinton) and Joseph Faria (D-Central Falls).

As vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Murphy was also close enough to the Harwood leadership team to be acceptable to the speaker's loyalists. Yet his genial manner and lack of prominence helped him to avoid association with the Harwood's perceived misbehavior in office. As Anastasia Williams says, "I never saw him on a daily basis on the speaker's coat tail."

The same group could have reelected Harwood, many contend. "I'm sure he had the votes," says outgoing state Representative Antonio Pires (D-Pawtucket), a Harwood ally-turned-critic, "but I'm sure he didn't want to put the people through the pain of voting for him publicly."

HARWOOD, IRONICALLY, entered the speaker's office with a far better claim to the title of reformer than Murphy. The Pawtucket representative defeated the candidate backed by the departing leadership team, and implemented rules changes that included requiring more careful consideration of the state budget and providing a way for rank and file legislators to bring bills to the floor without committee approval. Today, of course, Harwood's reform accomplishments are largely forgotten and the public views him instead as a wheeler-dealer who ran the House for his own benefit. By happening to be speaker when his wife landed a lifetime six-figure salary as a court magistrate, by helping defeat efforts to reduce slot machine takings that support his law partner's prominent client, Lincoln Greyhound Park, and by quietly settling a sexual harassment claim by State House secretary Wendy Collins, Harwood made that transformation possible.

Murphy, on the other hand, had some big pluses. Present and former legislators uniformly describe him as a somewhat reserved, nice guy. "I don't know anyone who doesn't like him," says Caprio, a Harwood critic. "A quiet guy, very good personality, a likeable man," agrees state Representative Peter Ginaitt (D-Warwick). Restoration of public confidence in the legislature "is absolutely essential," Ginaitt says, mentioning how he was bombarded with constituent complaints about Harwood as he campaigned door-to-door. "It really came down to a personality thing," Ginaitt explains. "A lot of people [legislators] were looking at who's a nice guy."

Murphy won, summarizes Charles Knowles, former Judiciary Committee chair and present House Corporations Committee legal counsel, "He has an agreeable personality. He doesn't offend people."

As a criminal-defense lawyer with degrees from the University of Hartford and Franklin Pierce Law Center, Murphy was also perceived as smart, educated, and articulate enough for the job. And as a conservative Irish Catholic with no reputation as an ideologue or crusader, he was a safe choice.

During his House career, Murphy has neither sponsored much high-profile legislation nor given many speeches on the House floor. "I don't associate him with issues," says Pires, who last year joined Murphy on the Judiciary Committee. "He's not a policy wonk, not a fire-and-brimstone speaker, not a backslapper. That doesn't hurt him."

Murphy and Fox had another advantage, notes former Cranston state Representative John Simonian -- both were members of the largest freshmen class in the history of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. In 1992, after the credit union crisis and state pension scandals tarnished many lawmakers, Rhode Islanders elected 34 new members to the House. Like any group of people who share a new experience, whether learning to drive or trying to go sober, class of '92 lawmakers developed a bond and are inclined to support one of their own for leadership positions, Simonian observes.

During a recent State House interview, Murphy coyly avoided specifying exactly when he began his campaign for a leadership post, saying only that he expressed interest during his most recent two-year term. Simonian recalls Murphy talking about becoming majority leader more than a year ago when it was clear that Harwood preferred Judiciary Chairman Robert Flaherty (D-Warwick) to replace then-Majority Leader Gerard Martineau (D-Woonsocket).

Flaherty, however, was closely allied with Harwood and self-destructed in April, several legislators say, when he used a parliamentary maneuver to not only kill the separation of powers bill, but also prevent any floor debate on the issue "Frank sunk his ship when he did that and eliminated his credibility to be majority leader," explains Reilly, who abstained rather than endorsing Murphy, "and Murphy was next in line."

Murphy's willingness to challenge Flaherty, although he was Harwood's choice, indicates that he will be independent and not a puppet manipulated by the outgoing speaker, concludes Simonian.

Pires, who says he would have voted for the Murphy-Fox team if still in the House, agrees. "I suspect he will have a fair level of independence from John Harwood," Pires observes, adding that an early indication will be whether Murphy retains key Harwood staffers, particularly chief of staff and former North Providence legislator Frank Anzeveno and chief legal counsel Richard Kearns.

Early signs, however, are that there will not be a major staff shakeup. In a December interview in a third-floor State House conference room, Murphy answered questions with Kearns sitting by his left elbow, furiously scribbling notes on a yellow pad. As the interview passed the half-hour mark, Anzeveno cracked the door open every few minutes to say the next appointment was waiting. Asked about this, Murphy says, "I don't think a change in staff is a benchmark of my abilities to lead the House of Representatives. When a baseball team gets rid of the manager, you don't trade all the players."

MURPHY PROMISES CHANGE, however, and says a fair time to judge him will be after the legislature adjourns in August. He promises to be open and accessible, citing his availability for an interview with Phoenix (prior to the Wendy Collins controversy, Harwood was typically inaccessible to the press) as evidence of his sincerity. "I'm not going to shrink from the responsibility," he says. "I'm not going to hide." He also promises to hire a press spokesperson to publicize the good work done by legislators. And Murphy says Fox and he have asked Auditor General Ernest Almonte to prepare a request-for-proposal to audit the secretive Joint Committee on Legislative Services, which manages the General Assembly's finances.

There are other factors that could lessen the influence wielded by the speaker in recent years: incoming governor Don Carcieri has already demonstrated his ability to take a more activist role at the State House than the disconnected and outgoing Lincoln Almond; Irons has been pushing to more evenly balance the power of the House and Senate leaders -- a situation that could be aided by his ascent to the new post of Senate president; perhaps most importantly, after the Collins controversy, legislators feel at least some public pressure to reform their own house.

Although he has consistently voted against it, Murphy promises an open debate over a separation of powers amendment to the Rhode Island Constitution. Menard adds that the leadership team supports an eight-year term limit for the speaker and Senate president and will make meetings with elected legislators its top priority.

Making time for legislators may be difficult for Murphy. Several lawmakers say they were surprised he wanted the speaker's job because he has a growing Providence-based law practice, two small children, ages four and six, and has never been one to hang around the State House. In fact, Murphy has missed many votes during his legislative career. Serving as the lawyer for Plunder Dome defendant Ed Voccola, Murphy missed much of last year's session, including 71 of 118 Judiciary Committee votes, according to State House records. His prior attendance record is also spotty. During the three previous years, while he was vice chair of the Judiciary Committee, he missed 120 of 414 votes, or 29 percent. And from 1995 to 2002, he missed 18 of 42 key floor votes selected by the Phoenix, or 43 percent.

As the incoming speaker, Murphy recognizes he can no longer handle federal trials like Voccola's, and states, "There is absolutely no problem with my time." He has shifted work to his law partner Mark Fay and two associates, he says, and plans to work more early mornings and weekends.

Murphy is also non-committal about a problem that got Harwood in trouble -- representing clients as a private lawyer at state agencies while serving as speaker. Murphy is currently representing D'Agostino's Auto Wrecking in a case before the state Department of Business Regulation. Asked by the Providence Journal whether he will continue this aspect of his law practice, he responded, "It depends on what the case is." But Murphy clearly believes that such representation is not an ethics issue or separation of powers problem. In 2001, when Harwood was facing an ethics complaint on a similar issue, Murphy sponsored legislation barring the Rhode Island Ethics Commission from preventing legislators from representing clients in conflicts with state government (the bill became moot when the commission decided it had no jurisdiction in such cases).

As a representative from West Warwick, the town targeted by the Narragansett tribe for a casino, Murphy's stance on gambling is important. In 1993, when anti-casino forces successfully pushed a constitutional amendment to require voter approval of casino gambling, Murphy was not present for the House floor vote. In 2000, he cosponsored legislation to put a West Warwick casino proposal on the ballot, but state Representative Timothy Williamson (D-West Warwick), not Murphy, has been the town's prominent pro-gambling advocate in the General Assembly. More recently, he told the Journal that he is uncommitted on the latest casino proposal and awaits the findings of a legislative study commission. Simonian, a gambling opponent, however, is certain that Murphy's election is a plus for pro-gambling forces. "You won't see the same level of resistance as you saw under Harwood," he predicts.

When Murphy has been present in the House during the last 10 years, his floor votes were conservative, but certainly not an automatic rubber stamp for House leaders. He opposed the gay rights bill in 1993, 1994, and when it became law in 1995. In 2001, he voted against extending the nondiscrimination law to include "gender identity or expression." He did, however, support repeal of the Rhode Island law criminalizing sodomy.

Murphy is also pro-life. In 1993, he opposed legislation to make the US Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision part of state law, and in 1998, supported a strong partial-birth abortion ban. Although a member of the Knights of Columbus, Murphy is not a fervent abortion opponent. In 1998, he supported legislation making it a state crime to obstruct access to an abortion clinic. He also opposed restoration of the death penalty and supported tougher penalties for assisting in a suicide.

On economic issues, he has a mixed record. In 1993, as a freshman, Murphy voted to cut the General Public Assistance Program that provided assistance to impoverished Rhode Islanders, and to reduce the corporate income tax by 10 percent. But in 1994, he opposed further cuts in GPA. He has also favored tax cuts for the wealthiest Rhode Islanders, backing repeal of the capital gains tax in 2001 and opposing an amendment in 1997 to restrict a reduction in the income tax to families that earn under $100,000 a year.

While Murphy supported requiring trigger locks with all new gun sales, he is generally an opponent of gun control. He opposed legislation to improve background checks by having buyers approved by their hometown police, rather than police in the store's municipality. He also supported easier renewals of concealed weapon permits, opposed a ban on assault weapons in both 1993 and 1994, and voted against a 10 percent tax on ammunition.

On criminal justice and labor issues, however, Murphy usually sides with liberals.

Last year, for example, Murphy was on the short end of an 181 Judiciary Committee endorsement of state Representative Peter Palumbo's (D-Cranston) annual attempt to bar prison inmates from using weight training equipment. And in 1995, only Murphy and four of the House's most liberal members opposed a bill that required people convicted of a third violent crime to serve 30 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. He also voted against legislation to limit the use of home confinement and supported legislation to allow some first-time felons to have their criminal record expunged after five years, rather than the current 10 years. In addition, he voted to repeal Rhode Island's lifetime ban on welfare benefits for people convicted of drug-related felonies and supported "medical parole" for terminally ill or permanently disabled inmates.

"He's sensitive to constitutional issues that involve criminal justice," says Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. As a criminal-defense lawyer and a member of the Judiciary Committee, Brown explains, "He could use his experience to explain why bills were bad." Brown adds, "He would speak up . . . he did not just sit by."

Murphy also votes to support the interests of the labor movement, although he did oppose tax breaks to build the Providence Place Mall, a plan endorsed by job-hungry construction unions. He voted against the charter school law that Harwood and then-Majority Leader George Caruolo pushed through the House by one vote. He has also supported increasing the minimum wage, backed elimination of the residency requirement for Providence and Pawtucket teachers, opposed voter initiative, and voted against weakening overtime laws to enable employers to require Sunday work.

In other votes favoring government regulation, he supported bans on smoking at the State House and using hand-held cell phones while driving.

In the coming months, Murphy will again grapple with many issues, but his toughest challenge will not be ideological. Maintaining his nice-guy image while attempting to satisfy the public's demand for reform and his core supporters' desire for stability, will be the greater test for Murphy's speakership.

Issue Date: January 3 - 9, 2003