John M. Murtagh

Yonkers City Council Member, District 5

John Murtagh was elected to his second term representing Yonkers’ Fifth Council District in November 2007. John is a member of the Real Estate and Economic Development, Budget and Rules Committees. In addition, he serves as the Council Minority Leader and Chairs the Municipal Operations and Environmental Sustainability Committees.

A graduate of Fordham College (B.A. 1982) and Fordham Law School (J.D. 1986), John has a long record of civic involvement in Yonkers and the Westchester County Community. John was a founder of the Yonkers Co-op Condo Council, at the time the first city-wide organization of cooperative apartment and condominium owners. He co-Chaired the Committee for Term Limits and led the successful fight to make Yonkers one of the first municipalities in New York State to impose term limits on elected officials. Presently, John is Chairman of the Four Rivers District, Boy Scouts of America and was formerly Chairman of the Board of Pregnancy Care Center, a counseling and residence program for expectant mothers throughout Westchester County. John’s political and legal commentary has been featured by among others, The New York Times, The Journal News, City Journal, National Public Radio, WVOX Radio, the Westchester County Business Journal and NY Habitat Magazine. John has been a featured guest on Hannity & Colmes, Fox & Friends, Inside Edition and the Greta Van Sustren Show. John is an Adjunct Professor of Law and Public Policy at the Fordham University College of Liberal Studies and is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of Freedom of Information Law and the Open Meetings Law.

During his first term, John initiated the inquiry which eventually led to the clean-up of a hiring scandal at the Yonkers Board of Education; introduced the legislation which led to the adoption of a tough new Ethics Code for the City and the Board of Education, and successfully amended the Rules and Procedures of the City Council to make the Council more responsive to the public and to increase public participation in the work of the Council. As co-Chair of the Real Estate and Economic Development Committee from 2004 through 2005, John was also at the forefront in representing community interests in a number of major development projects in Yonkers. Since winning re-election, John has introduced cutting edge “Green Building” legislation; legislation to protect property owners from eminent domain abuse, and legislation to reform lobbying practices in Yonkers.

John maintains a private law practice in Yonkers. He has been married for twenty-three years to Margaret, a nursery school director. The Murtagh’s have two sons – John, a high school crew coach and James, a junior at Fordham Preparatory School.

John posts regularly on the activities of Yonkers government at:

http://councilmanjohnmurtagh.blogspot.com and

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