Preceded by Jody Dickinson Spouse(s) Amy Gray Name Michael Gray | Children One child in 2014 Role Farmer Residence Augusta, Arkansas Political party Democratic Party | |
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Alma mater Arkansas State University
William H. Bowen School of Law at the
University of Arkansas at Little Rock Education Arkansas State University, William H. Bowen School of Law, University of Arkansas at Little Rock | ||
Occupation Farmer and businessman | ||
Michael john gray for chair of the democratic party
Michael John Gray (born 1976) is a farmer with a law degree in his Augusta, Arkansas, who is a Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for District 47, which includes portions of Independence, Jackson, White and his own Woodruff counties in the eastern portion of his state. He was elected in March 2017 to Chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas.
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Background
Gray holds both an Associate of Arts from Arkansas State University at Beebe and Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. He obtained a Juris Doctorate from the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University in Arkansas at Little Rock. He is the owner of Wakefield Partners in Augusta. Gray is affiliated with the Augusta and McCrory Chambers of Commerce and the Woodruff County Farm Bureau. He is a founding member and the secretary of the Arkansas Peanut Growers Association. Gray is a member of the First United Methodist Church in Augusta. He and his wife, Amy, have one son, who was born in October 2014.
Political life
Gray is a former member of the Augusta City Council, to which he was elected in 2010 and served two terms. In 2014, he was elected in House District 47 to succeed the term-limited Democrat Jody Dickinson. He was unopposed in both the Democratic primary, and the general election. Due to newly extended term limits, he is eligible to serve until January 2021.
Representative Gray held these committee assignments in his first term (2015-2016): (1) Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Advanced Communications and Information Technology, (2) City, County and Local Affairs, and (3) Education. The House Education chairman appointed him to Academic Facilities Oversight Committee. He was elected vice chairman of the 2015 freshman class.
In September 2015, Representative Gray was elected by his fellow Arkansas House Democratic Caucus members to be caucus leader. A position he held until June 2017, when he and his colleagues elected Representative David Whitaker to succeed him.
In March 2017 the State Committee of the Democratic Party of Arkansas elected Representative Gray to serve as Chairman.