Murphy, who was reelected to a second council term last November, won the mayor’s seat in an initial 5-4 vote over Rodney Elliott, a vote that the council subsequently made unanimous.
He succeeds James Milinazzo, who served as mayor during the last term and was not reelected to his council seat in November.
City Councilor Kevin Broderick, who supported Murphy, said the latter’s relatively young age “was not a concern for me. I think he’s shown that his interest and his intelligence are more mature than his 29 years.’’
Murphy said he believes his age “really isn’t significant one way or the other.’’
Still, Murphy said, he hoped his political success would inspire other young people in the city to become active, noting that in his first term he supported a so-far unsuccessful proposal that the city secure special legislation to lower the minimum voting age to 17 in municipal elections.
More broadly, he would like to encourage greater civic participation by people of all ages, “not just in elections but in policy decisions.’’
Murphy, whose late grandfather George B. Murphy served as a state representative from 1947 to 1949 and as a city councilor from 1954 to 1958, said he is thrilled with his new role.
“It’s obviously a great honor to have your colleagues have that confidence in you to be able to lead them into the next few years,’’ he said. “I’m really excited about the kinds of things I think we can do here in Lowell.’’
That his election came on what was initially a divided vote is not a concern for Murphy.
“It’s just part of the process,’’ he said. “Politics is really about how you reconcile your differences. You expect there to be some sort of dissent.’’
Supporters of Elliott had pointed to the fact that he is an eight-term councilor who finished second in the November council race - Murphy finished fourth - and had not served previously as mayor.
But City Councilor Joe Mendonca, who backed Elliott, said he was not disappointed to see Murphy take the post.
