David Murphy was elected to his first term to Cornwall City Council on October 25, 2010

PHOTO CREDIT - TVCogeco

Cornwall - Feb. 19, 2011 - I'll never forget October 25th, 2010. That's the day Cornwall residents bestowed a great honour on me and elected me, along with 9 others to represent them as a Cornwall City Councillor. Since then (almost four months), I've done more reading, questioning and explaining than in any other four months in my life - and I'm really enjoying it! One of the most common questions I was asked during the campaign was "Are you prepared for the job and all the reading that goes with it?" My answer was and still is yes.

I was in the fortunate position to have covered City Council as a member of the media (Corus Entertainment formerly Tri-Co. Broadcasting) for a decade. I sat through a couple rather lengthy budget deliberations (when they had meetings that lasted days at a time and were held during the week and on weekends). That "beat" gave me the chance to taste the political life. Being away from full time broadcasting since 2005, made me realize I liked the taste.

Every group (Cornwall Lions Club, Team Cornwall, Big Brothers/Big Sisters etc) that I have been a part of in my adult life I joined because I thought I could help make Cornwall an even better place to live, work and play (to borrow an old slogan). I never had intentions of running for political office when I signed up with those groups but they allowed me the opportunity to find out more about what makes Cornwall tick.

Since that day in October, I've been told by some supporters that they're surprised at how quiet I've been (meaning they expected me to be much more vocal - as usually is the case). To those residents I say, don't worry, it's coming. There's a learning curve when you're a rookie on Council. Councillor Maurice Dupelle, the other true rookie and I have discussed it (I don't qualify Leslie O'Shaughnessy as a rookie - he's got years of political experience including a former term on City Council to draw from). I may still be "feeling my way" around the table but that doesn't mean I haven't answered dozens of e-mails, phone calls and personal requests for information, guidance or explanations having to do with City business.

OurHometown.ca is going to allow me an opportunity to interact with you more frequently. This column will be a forum for me to discuss topics of the day as well as other issues and events that affect us and every once and a while, I may even challenge Chris, Kevin and Mitch on their outlook. I welcome and encourage e-mails to the editor on my column.

From my hometown and yours, David Murphy.