Michael J. Murphy is an American politician who served as the 21st
Washington State Treasurer
The Washington State Treasurer is an elected official in the US state of Washington whose office is established by the Washington State Constitution. Mike Pellicciotti is the current Washington State Treasurer, a Democrat who began his term in J ...
from 1997 to 2009 as a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
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*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
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.
Early career
Murphy is a native of
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. He attended
St. Edward Seminary
Saint Edward Seminary (sometimes Saint Edward's Seminary) was an institution for developing Catholic priests in the US state of Washington (state), Washington. Dedicated to Edward the Confessor, Saint Edward the Confessor and located in Kenmore, Wa ...
in
Kenmore, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
from
Seattle University in 1969.
[
After completing a tour of duty in the military, Murphy began work as a civil servant for the Office of the Washington State Treasurer (OST) in 1972. During his 15 years working for the OST, Murphy's assignments included administrator of the Public Deposit Protection Commission and internal auditor. In 1978, while working full-time for the OST, he completed his ]Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
from Pacific Lutheran University
Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ame ...
.
In 1987, Murphy was appointed to serve as treasurer of Thurston County, the state's eighth-largest county. Later that year, he was elected to that office. He was re-elected in 1990 and 1994. Murphy has also previously served as President of the Western State Treasurers Association.
Washington State Treasurer
In 1996, Murphy ran for State Treasurer. He won that election, as well as his races for re-election in 2000 and 2004. In 2004, Murphy received 60% of the vote, followed by Republican Oscar S. Lewis who received 36%.
As State Treasurer, Murphy was one of ten voting members of the Washington State Investment Board, served as chair for the Board's Audit Committee, and was also a member of the Board's Private Markets Committee. He also chaired the State Finance Committee, which oversees the issuance and management of the state's debt. He was also one of twelve people appointed by the governor to the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC).
After serving three four-year terms, Murphy retired the post in 2008, and James McIntire replaced him as Washington State Treasurer.
Personal life
Murphy is the eldest son of a family of 11 children.[2008 Pictorial Guide to the Legislature: Sixtieth Washington State Legislature]
Retrieved 2009-09-14. Murphy and his wife, Teri Smith Murphy, live in Olympia on their sailboat.
See also
* Washington State Executive elections, 2004
* Washington State Executive elections, 2008
References
External links
Official government website for the State Treasurer
2004 campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Mike
Politicians from Seattle
Washington (state) Democrats
State treasurers of Washington (state)
Seattle University alumni
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)