September 26, 2012 08:15 PM UTC

LA Times Features Lakewood, Bob Murphy

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• by: Colorado Pols

Concomitant with Jeffco’s increasing importance as a swing county this election cycle is increased media attention on local communities. Little wonder, then, that the Los Angeles Times profiled Lakewood voters just a day before Mitt Romney delivered an address in South Jeffco.

From the Los Angeles Times‘ Don Lee:

LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Summer Tangeman embodies the Rocky Mountain lifestyle and the independent spirit of voters in the suburban areas that make up the swing vote in this closely divided state.

A 38-year-old physician’s assistant, she runs, loves the outdoors, identifies with neither political party and finds the partisan bickering of Washington disgusting, especially when she looks at her own economic situation. She’s been laid off twice in the last 18 months, most recently in May.

Tangeman doesn’t blame President Obama. But she’s having a hard time getting over the fact that, for her, there’s simply been no recovery.

“It’s not been so good for me,” she says, her face drenched in sweat after a long morning run along the trails of Green Mountain.

Her assessment captures the mood of many voters as they contemplate the central issue of the 2012 presidential campaign: Obama’s record on the economy. Republican leaders blame Obama for unemployment stuck at the highest levels in decades. Democrats counter that no president could have overcome the worst economic crisis in more than 60 years in just one term and that Obama’s policies prevented the country from sliding into a full-scale depression. Like Tangeman, many voters in the middle express ambivalence.

Administration officials can claim some success with manufacturing, where exports and overall employment have expanded. But their record is poorer on small business, which has been particularly hurt by the problems of the housing market since many owners of small companies use their homes as collateral to get loans.

…

Many of those effects, for both good and ill, can be seen in this city of 144,000 in Denver’s western suburbs. Mayor Bob Murphy [Pols Emphasis] said about $2 million from the stimulus program, known formally as the American Recovery Act, went directly into his town, to fix playgrounds and sidewalks and put energy-efficient systems in public buildings. Residents also benefited from $170 million in stimulus money to renovate the Denver Federal Center, a 90-building campus in Lakewood where 6,200 government employees work.

“I shudder to think of the scenario absent the stimulus plan,” said Murphy, a registered Democrat although his position is nonpartisan.

Yet things remain tough for many. Unemployment is stuck above 8% in Colorado and for the U.S. as a whole. And with good jobs scarce and housing prices still soft, many families are continuing to lose ground. More than 2,800 K-12 students in Lakewood and other towns in Jefferson County are considered homeless, up from 2,200 two years earlier.

As election day inches closer, the national lens will almost certainly continue to focus on Jeffco and competitive counties like it around the country.

For folks like Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy, however, locally-focused mass media election coverage may prove to be more burden than boon. Murphy has been quoted twice in the last month on issues relating to the presidential campaign — once on NPR during the Democratic National Convention and in the Times‘ article above. Although Murphy certainly deserves some attention for his leadership in Lakewood, there’s no question that being interviewed about a hyper-partisan national election makes him squirm.

Lakewood’s mayor, after all, eschews partisan titles and avoids overtly political activity like the plague. That media outlets are now qualifying his title with “registered Democrat” overlooks the broader nature of local governance in Jeffco in search of compelling nuggets relating to the national race.

It’s about time Murphy receives some national validation for his efforts in Lakewood’s top job. It’s unfortunate, however, that hishis newfound political relevance is tied to the presidential horse race.