Once regarded as an irritant to the oyster that is Boston politics, CityCouncilor Steve Murphy is now looking more like a pearl.

For years, Murphy's failed efforts to get elected made him the butt of local humor. Now 43, the Hyde Park resident first ran for office - School Committee - when he was but 28. The top four finishers got the job. Murphy came in fifth.

Three more times he ran: in 1987 for Boston City Council, in 1992 for state representative and in 1993 for City Council again.

He lost all three.

In 1995, derided as Boston's version of Harold Stassen, Murphy tried for a fifth time to win public office, running once more for an at-large seat on the City Council.

Fearing he could get enough votes to place among the top four finishers, perhaps by knocking off incumbent Peggy Davis-Mullen, Mayor Thomas Menino's forces pulled out all the stops to defeat Murphy.

They vilified him as a hard-right ideologue. Murphy says he doesn't understand how he got his reputation as an arch-conservative, although he did allow himself to become closely identified with the more right-wing members of the council, particularly the notorious Albert ``Dapper'' O'Neil, widely regarded as a bigot and misogynist.

Murphy finished out of the money, in fifth, just behind Davis-Mullen.

(In proof of the political aphorism ``No good deed goes unpunished,'' Davis-Mullen went out to become Menino's most vociferous critic on the council and one of his likeliest challengers for the mayor's job in 2001.)

Still, in Boston politics, fifth counts for something. Murphy became councilor-in-waiting; if one of the four incumbents left office, he would automatically move up.

For more than a year, he was like a shadow councilor, showing up at City Hall and community meetings. He also took to driving the ailing Dapper O'Neil around town. Murphy says he did so because he felt sorry for O'Neil. Other saw it, more darkly, as proof Murphy was a political throwback.

But Murphy's chance came not through O'Neil's health but when City Councilor Richard Iannella successfully ran for Suffolk County register of probate. Eventually, in early 1997, having spent more than half of his adult life running for office, Murphy finally had a seat on the council.

In the years since, he has surprised everybody.

Instead of a clone of Dapper O'Neil, Murphy has emerged as a centrist. He has proved remarkably willing to listen to new ideas and rethink his positions, even on such hot-button issues as gay rights. He has worked assiduously to broaden his base, courting voters in more liberal neighborhoods such as Allston, Brighton and Back Bay, while at the same time holding on to his Hyde Park and West Roxbury strongholds.

Some of that is simply smart politics. In November 1997, his first election after becoming a councilor, Murphy just barely kept his seat, coming in fourth by a margin of only 175 votes.

Murphy had to broaden his appeal, and he worked hard to do so.

His efforts paid off. In 1999 Murphy finished a strong second, placing well in neighborhoods that previously had given him little support.

Earlier this year, Murphy helped spearhead a budget review process that was the most successful in years. He has also made his peace with Menino, and while not an administration lackey, is now seen by administration staffers as someone they can go to when they need help with legislation.

At critical points he has shown real political courage. He was, for example, the only at-large councilor to criticize the linkage deal that unfairly sent millions of dollars to South Boston.

He also thinks creatively. Along with councilor Paul Scapicchio, Murphy stepped forward early in the debate over funding a new Fenway Park with the notion of creating a lottery, the proceeds of which would help build a new stadium. Although ultimately not adopted, the idea demonstrated that Murphy understands the critical difference between helping to create solutions and merely being a roadblock.

Most important, Murphy is now on the short list of those the council most likely would turn to when it comes time to select a new president.

Much of Murphy's success is due to his bearing and personality. At 6-foot-4, he is a big bear of a man who is unafraid to approach anybody. A skilled raconteur, he always has a story and tells it well. He has a strong memory for names and faces and seems at times to know everyone in Boston.

Murphy is by no means perfect. He often speaks too quickly, well before he has thought out his comments. That makes for good press but leaves him in the position of having to extricate his foot from his mouth.

He also is too willing to descend to the level of backstabbing and name-calling, allowing himself to get dragged into demeaning fights with other councilors, particularly Davis-Mullen and new Councilor Michael Flaherty.

In a sense, like Boston, Murphy is a work in progress. When he first ran for office, he seemed a relic of the city's often ugly past. Increasingly, he represents its future.

Tom Keane writes every Friday for the Herald. He can be reached at tomkeane@tomkeane.com.