Murray to focus on healthcare, housing

Senator Therese Murray, a single mother who rose from a working-class upbringing in Dorchester to become the state's first female legislative leader, said her agenda as Senate president would be inspired by those who struggle to get by in a sometimes hostile world, with a focus on affordable housing, healthcare, and education.

In a sharp departure from traditional Beacon Hill priorities, Murray, the first legislative leader in decades who does not represent primarily urban interests, also pledged to focus on helping fishermen and farmers, who she said are "slowly being squeezed out of existence."

"Their plight, like the plight of so many others, is what first stirred me to public office and to this body," the Plymouth Democrat told a packed chamber yesterday shortly after her peers elected her president. "Whether it is a single mom working two jobs to make ends meet, a senior citizen having to choose between prescription drugs or food, veterans of all ages . . . these are the people we have pledged to serve. And they all have a voice through us, and they must be heard."

But Murray's position on several critical issues facing the Senate remains unclear. Though a strong supporter of same-sex marriage, she declined to say whether she would require an up-or-down vote on a constitutional ban when she presides over the Constitutional Convention this spring or whether she would allow it to be defeated with procedural maneuvers. "I haven't even discussed that with myself," she told reporters.

Her predecessor, Robert E. Travaglini, who opposed gay marriage, allowed a vote on the merits in January. The amendment must be approved again this session to win a place on the ballot in 2008.

Murray was also noncommittal on Governor Deval Patrick's proposal to raise additional revenue by closing so-called corporate tax loopholes and did not address his initiative to give cities and towns the authority to impose a modest local meal or room tax.

Travaglini, who had represented East Boston in the Senate since 1993, stepped down in a tearful goodbye after four years as leader of the upper chamber.

"I have made more friends, had more fun, and had more of an effect as president of the Senate than I've had in the rest of my life," said Travaglini, who received standing ovations and emotional tributes by members of both parties.

Travaglini, who plans to open a public strategy firm with his lawyer, spoke poignantly about his desire to spend more time with his wife and three children. He first dropped word that he planned to leave the Senate more than a year ago, partly because of the need to pay his children's college tuition bills.

He decided to leave the Senate a little more than four months after he said he was exhilarated enough about Patrick's election to stick around for a while.

"I'm in no hurry," he said at the time. "I'm excited about having a Democratic governor. It's clearly going to be different."

Yesterday, Travaglini had words of encouragement for the freshman governor, who has made a series of political missteps during his first months in office. In his farewell speech, Travaglini called Patrick "a wonderful man, a good man, a man who is going to make a difference." He added, looking at his fellow senators, "And I know you're going to help."

Murray, 59, Travaglini's close friend and chosen successor, has held a number of powerful positions since her election in 1992. She led an overhaul of welfare as head of the Human Services Committee in the mid-1990s and, for the last four years, served as the Senate's lead budget writer.

She wiped a tear from her eye when her victory was announced. The crowd -- which included the governor, the lieutenant governor, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and former attorney general Thomas F. Reilly, as well as family and friends -- congratulated her with a long standing ovation.

Upon taking the podium, she pointed to the election of Martha Coakley as attorney general and Maureen Feeney as president of the Boston City Council.

"The election of the three of us demonstrates that in 2007, gender is no longer an issue in choosing government leaders," she said.

She promised that the best interests of the people of the Commonwealth would be "the litmus test I use every day for every decision I make as Senate president." She also promised to serve the needy, but with "the understanding that we must always be mindful of the fiscal health of the Commonwealth."

Murray described her childhood in a family of four daughters who all got their working papers at age 14 to help pay the bills. Murray never finished college and raised her daughter Lauren, now grown, mostly as a single mother.

After the speech, she acknowledged that the ceremony felt "kind of surreal."

"I mean, this kid from Dorchester never thought she'd be here," she said later.

Over the last year, with the blessing of a well-liked sitting president, Murray cemented the support of her 34 Democratic colleagues, who lauded her extensive knowledge of policy, her compassion for people in need and her devotion to her constituents. She also won lavish praise from the five Republican members.

Murray's peers predicted she would be a stalwart negotiator for the Senate. But handling her new role as the Senate's chief diplomat could also pose a challenge for Murray, whose reputation for being prickly contrasts with Travaglini's more magnanimous persona.

Several of those who spoke at yesterday's ceremony disparaged press accounts of Murray as a stern and sometimes vengeful leader. "Maybe those characteristics which in a male would be referred to as courageous, fortitude, stick-to-it-ness, in a woman would be referred to differently," said Senator Robert S. Creedon Jr., a Democrat.

In almost the same breath, though, Creedon recalled a time when he was about to vote against a bill Murray supported. "You turned around and gave me that look," he said to Murray, as the crowd burst into laughter, "And I thought of all those bills I had . . . that might languish in Ways and Means forever. And that look spoke volumes."

In her speech, she pledged that "the open and empowering atmosphere created by Travaglini will continue" and promised to look to her colleagues for advice.

"We are all in this together," she said. "And no idea will be discounted as we conduct the business of the Commonwealth."

Scott Helman of the Globe staff contributed to this report.