By Andrew Macdonald
A wildcard among the 16 people running to become the next mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality is former broadcaster Riley Murphy.
In August, Murphy quietly left his five-year perch as general manager of Seaside FM, the community radio station in Eastern Passage, to join the race for mayor.
While Murphy might have had success running for a seat on regional council, he tells me he is running to win as mayor.
His departure from Seaside FM came as a shocker as he loved that job.
“I love the station, I love the community we fostered, the staff and volunteers. We still keep in touch, I am still good friends with so many of them. The (board of) directors (of Seaside FM) wanted to take a new route and I was not included in that vision, so it was time for me to take this leap of faith into the next chapter of my life,” a reference to his mayoral bid.
Former Seaside FM operations manager Riley Murphy poses with some of the station’s merchandise.
Murphy was handpicked by Seaside FM founder Wayne Harret when Harret was dying from cancer. He passed on in 2021.
At Seaside FM, Murphy began renewing the radio broadcast House and hired many new volunteer announcers, as other hosts retired or died, such as the passing of Frank Cameron earlier this year. Cameron had joined as a volunteer broadcast host in 2005.
While Murphy has been talented as a radio broadcaster, he has long considered becoming mayor, even in his youth.
“Ever since I was young, still in high school, this has been something on my mind, I will take this leap of faith and try my best,” he says.
He thought incumbent third-term mayor Mike Savage would run for a fourth historic term.
“I did not think I’d run in this election, I thought Mayor Savage had four more years and then I would run. The opportunity has presented itself. I am ready to step up and be the strong leader that Halifax needs — for sure.”
He has the backing of his new spouse, a woman from Kuwait whom he married in 2023. “When me and my wife first got married she got me a watch for my birthday and engraved on the back: ‘Riley Murphy, future Mayor of Halifax’. I wear that watch every single day with pride.”
I asked Murphy why he first did not seek a regional councillor seat, as opposed to going for the top brass political post.
The 27-year-old Gen Z member is optimistic he can attract younger voters while leveraging votes among the mature audience that tunes into Seaside FM.
“By young, I would say 45 and below. I know there are a lot of people out there who feel disenfranchised in local politics. They do not see a real option for them. But, I am here to be a real alternative to the status quo. I think people will see me as their brother, their son, their nephew, their uncle. They will see me as someone that they can relate to,” Murphy tells The Macdonald Notebook.
He wants to campaign on fresh ideas and solutions. “I am waiting to focus group this on the campaign trail. All of my ideas and solutions are from the heart. I did not wait to see what is safe for the public, I run with my heart. I believe these solutions will work with Halifax.”
More on his ideas and solutions in the following article.
At Seaside FM, Murphy attended most community parades across HRM with his Seaside FM cruiser, putting him in touch with many residents of the widespread municipality that includes Downtown Halifax with its office towers, and farms out in the rural region.
At many of those parades, Mayor Savage also attended, and that put Murphy in touch with the community-minded mayor.
“I hinted at running with the mayor. I sort of joked about it with him, because I did not know how fast word would spread. One of the things the mayor said to me was, ‘Take it to the streets….If you are interested in the job, find out what the people really think. And, I took that to heart,” says Murphy.
“I asked all the people around me, is this the right decision? I focused grouped with listeners of Seaside FM, asking them, ‘What do you think of this idea here, would you support a younger candidate?’ Everybody seemed to have the general consensus that we need someone young, someone new and someone who has not spent their life in politics.”
While he is not a career politician, Murphy does not want to make a lifetime out of elected office, either. “I hope to do my part, and pass the torch off to someone else.”
He thinks he can leverage the mature audience that Seaside FM has carved out since it first went on the air in 1999.
“I know a lot of listeners have been asking about me (since he departed) and I have kept it under wraps for a while. I hope when they see my name on the ballot and remember who I am and what I did for the station that they will give me their support.”
I asked Murphy why he did not first seek a safer run as a regional councillor, instead of going after the top brass ring, mayoral post.
“I thought about that,” he tells The Macdonald Notebook. “One of the things that kept coming up from friends and family was just go for broke. Just do it.”
Murphy expects a lot of votes from rural HRM. “I have a lot of reach on the outskirts. The Eastern Shore is where my family hails from — a lot of family, all down the Eastern Shore to Musquodobit Harbour, all the way out to Enfield and Elmsdale. The rural areas are my strong suit for sure.
“I obviously have a lot of support from Eastern Passage,” where Seaside FM is located.
“I believe I can make a real change and a real impact on people’s lives, not just in Eastern Passage, but in all of HRM.”
Murphy is planning a kick-off campaign in short order. “We’re putting something together”.
The day I spoke with him he was preparing to canvas for support at the Halifax Harbour ferry terminals.
See the next story on Riley Murphy’s positions on the issues facing HRM residents.
