Confirmed: House Speaker Bill Murphy Not Seeking Reelection

There’s been a lot of political chatter, as well as several non-denial denials this afternoon regarding a rumor that four-term RI House Speaker William Murphy will not be seeking a fifth term in January, when the House reconvenes for the next session.

The news of Speaker Murphy’s soon to be lameduckedness appears to have been broken [at least in print] by Matt Jerzyk over at Rhode Island’s Future, so congratulations to him on getting the scoop over the Projo and the others, of only by a matter of minutes. It only proves that you don’t need big buildings and overpaid staffs to get a good news story.

Just within the last hour, other confirmations have appeared on the Projo 7 to  7 News Blog:

In an interview with The Journal Wednesday, the West Warwick Democrat said he conveyed his decision at a chairmans’ dinner at the Capriccio restaurant last Wednesday, along with his endorsement of House Majority Leader Gordon Fox to succeed him.

“I will not be seeking reelection in 2011,” he said.

…as well as on WJAR’s website via the Associated Press.:

A source close to Murphy told The Associated Press that the Democratic leader does not intend to run for another two-year term as speaker in January 2011.

This should set up a hotly contested race between House Majority Leader Gordon Brown, who apparently has Speaker Murphy’s backing, as well as Rep. Greg Schadone (who recently made news by asking that the House come back into session to deal with the financial crisis) and Rep. Steve Ucci (who has long expressed interest in the position). There may be others interested in the position, as well.

If there are 3 or more Democrats in the running, I would surmise that the House Republican Caucus, which currently numbers 6 of the 75 House members, could be a factor… of course, assuming they all vote for the same person!