Murray had described himself as being the first Tea Party activist to be elected to office.[3]
Life and early career
Murray is a Maryland native[2] 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 been the owner of Suffolk County-based D & S Advertising Inc. since 1997.
In 2009, Murray ran for Suffolk County Legislature in Suffolk County's 7th Legislative District. He was defeated by incumbent Jack Eddington.[4]
On February 9, 2010, Murray won a special election, winning the New York State Assembly seat previously held by Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington. Murray defeated Lauren Thoden by 160 votes.[5] Murray was re-elected in the 2010 general election.[6] After serving one full term, he was defeated by Edward J. Hennessey, a Democrat, by 226 votes in the General Election on November 6, 2012.[7][8]
In a re-match in 2014, it was revealed during the campaign that Dean Murray's campaign committee[9] surreptitiously planted a GPS device[10] 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[11] 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[12] In a tight race, Murray defeated Hennessey by 526 votes.[13] Murray was re-elected in 2016.[14]
In 2018, Murray opted not to run for re–election. Instead, he ran for state senate, and was defeated by Monica Martinez.[15][16]
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