John Murphy is making it official Saturday. Long a behind-the-scenes campaign organizer and lobbyist for progressive and union causes, Murphy is declaring his candidacy for the 8th House District seat held by Republican Tim Ackert of Coventry.
Murphy now splits his time between the Connecticut Citizen Action Group and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
He is the second union official to declare for a House seat: Leo Canty of Windsor, a longtime AFT and AFL-CIO official, is running in the 5th District. Canty is in a battle for the Democratic nomination, while Murphy appears to have the backing of Democrats in Coventry.