Lawmaker: House Speaker to leave leadership job

PROVIDENCE—House Speaker William Murphy has told his colleagues he’s stepping down from his leadership post when the next legislative term begins, according to the chairman of a House committee.

House Speaker William Murphy has told his colleagues he’s stepping down from his leadership post when the next legislative term begins, according to the chairman of a House committee.

Rep. Kenneth Carter told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he was in a meeting last week in which the Democratic leader told his committee chairs he would finish out his term as speaker in
January, then step down. He has been House speaker since 2003.

It was not immediately clear whether Murphy, 46, planned to stay in the General Assembly, where he has represented West Warwick since 1992. Carter said Murphy did not elaborate on his future plans, and Carter refused to comment on whether Murphy would stay in the Legislature.

In a written statement, Murphy would not comment on his departure, saying only that he looked forward to reconvening for a special two-day session on Oct. 28 and 29, and then would prepare for the 2010 session. Murphy spokesman Larry Berman told NBC 10 that he had no comment.

As House speaker, Murphy is one of Rhode Island’s most powerful politicians, a point even critics like Republican Gov. Don Carcieri concede. Murphy presides over a veto-proof Democratic majority that
can write - or rewrite - the state budget at will.

Although he is a Democrat, Murphy is also a social conservative who has blocked efforts to legalize gay marriage in Rhode Island and a fiscal conservative who refused calls from more liberal members of his own party to hike taxes and avoid big cuts to social service programs.

He represents West Warwick, a former mill town that is a reliable Democratic bastion and among the state’s poorest communities. He backed a referendum in 2006 that would have changed the state constitution to allow a casino in West Warwick, a measure that voters rejected.