Willard H. Murray Jr. (January 1, 1931 – December 20, 2021) was an American politician who served as a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

from 1988 until 1996. Murray made an unsuccessful run for congress in a special election in 1996 when he lost to Juanita McDonald. After that loss, he left the Assembly due to

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

Start in politics

After working as an engineer throughout the 1950s, he became involved politically with the onset of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. He served on the staffs of Los Angeles City Councilmen Robert Farrell and Billy Mills. On a state level, he served on the staffs of Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally and as an advisor to the Senate Democratic Caucus. As a politician Murray focused on education, crime control, economic development, family values, homeless veterans, and pediatric and prenatal care for the poor.

Other accomplishments

Murray established the first Institute on the Preservation of Jazz as an Artform at

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

, and established the Center for African-American Educational Excellence and Achievement at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Murray coauthored legislation which provides for Superintendents of Education in both the CDC and the California Youth Authority to have literacy programs for inmates to preempt recidivism. In 1997, the government of California rewarded Murray with a section of the State Route 91 named after him.

Personal life and death

He was married to Barbara Murray. They had two children, Kevin, a former state senator from California's 26th Senate District and Melinda, a Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County. He died on December 20, 2021, at the age of 90.

References

External links

Join California Willard H. Murray Jr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Willard H. Jr. 1931 births Murray, Williard H. Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly 20th-century American politicians African-American state legislators in California United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American people Politicians from Los Angeles