Vince Murphy Wins Big In School Committee Race

Vince Murphy cruised to victory Tuesday in the race for the one open seat on the Nantucket School Committee, defeating Matt Tara by a wide margin.

Murphy, who had served on the School Committee since November 2024 when he was appointed to fill the remaining months of Pauline Proch's term following her resignation, was ecstatic as he left Tuesday night's School Committee meeting to hear the results at the polls in the Nantucket High School lobby.

"I don’t know where my support came from, but I talked to a lot of people just walking around, I put out my message to say that I want to have broad level improvements in the school and to have quality as a main factor in the campaign," Murphy told the Current Tuesday night. "It was my first time campaigning for any office, and I’m blown away by the level of support. It’s a helluva result, and all I have to say is thank you to the Nantucket community. The whole purpose is to work to the benefit of our kids and our system."

Murphy was born and raised in Ireland. He and his wife moved to Nantucket 10 years ago, and have since welcomed three children, the eldest of whom attends Nantucket Elementary School. Murphy has worked for the town's Natural Resources Department for the past seven years, and in 2022 he was named sustainability programs manager.

He emphasized that the last six months serving on the School Committee have prepared him to hit the ground running.

"There’s been a huge focus on English language learners, and I want to continue that and support that, but not at the cost of any other program," Murphy said. "We have to maintain diversity and multilingualism among our communities that don’t just speak one language."

The final results of Tuesday's School Committee race were:

• Vince Murphy: 1,391
• Matt Tara: 563