Preceded by Edward Hennessey Name L. Murray Preceded by Patricia Eddington Party Republican Party | Political party Republican Succeeded by Edward F. Hennessey Website Official website | |
 | ||
Born July 22, 1964 (age 59)
Washington, D.C. ( 1964-07-22 ) Alma mater Broadcasting Institute of Maryland | ||
L. Dean Murray (born July 22, 1964) is the Assembly member for the 3rd District of the New York Assembly. He is a Republican. The district includes portions of the town of Brookhaven, including Bellport and Mastic Beach in Suffolk County on Long Island.
Contents
Murray had described himself as being the first Tea Party activist to be elected to office.
Life and career
Murray is a Maryland native who graduated from the Broadcasting Institute of Maryland. He started his career by spending ten years in the radio and television news industry, during which he covered the Pennsylvania State Capitol and served on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Associated Press. He was later a regional sales manager and advertising sales representative for TCI Cable. Murray has the been the owner of Suffolk County-based D & S Advertising Inc. since 1997. In 2009, he sought office in Suffolk County's 7th Legislative District, running against incumbent Jack Eddington, but was defeated by Eddington.
Murray resides in East Patchogue, New York; he previously lived in Coram, New York for 15 years. He is divorced and has one son, Anthony.
New York Assembly
On February 9, 2010, he won a special election to capture the seat previously held by Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington. Murray defeated Lauren Thoden by 160 votes. Murray was re-elected in 2010 . After serving 1 full term, he was defeated by Edward J. Hennessey, a Democrat, by 226 votes in the General Election on November 6, 2012.
In a re-match in 2014, It was revealed during the campaign that Dean Murray's campaign committee surreptitiously planted a GPS device on New York State Assemblyman Edward Hennessey’s car and secretly tracked him for two months. A witness also testified that he personally performed surveillance on Hennessey's home and family, tracking cars and their movements in an effort to continuously ascertain Hennessey's whereabouts. Dean Murray used this information to file a petition to disprove Assemblyman Hennessey's residency and knock him off the ballot. The petition was dismissed by State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Pitt In a tight race, Murray defeated Hennessey by 526 votes.
