Richard Walter Muri (born November 30, 1953) is an American politician. He is the appointed Mayor of the Town of Steilacoom after longtime Mayor Ron Lucas stepped down for health reasons in March 2021, before passing away just weeks later. He is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

former member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

, representing the 28th legislative district. Muri was appointed to the Washington State House of Representatives following (now former) State Representative Steve O'Ban's appointment to the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olymp ...

after State Senator

Mike Carrell Michael J. Carrell (April 10, 1944 – May 29, 2013) was an American politician and educator. Born in Tacoma, Washington, Carrell graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a degree in education. He was a teacher in middle school, high scho ...

's death. From 2003 to 2012, he served as a Republican member of the Pierce County Council, representing the 6th District. In 2010, he ran as a Republican candidate for

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

Washington's 9th congressional district Washington's 9th congressional district encompasses a long, somewhat narrow area in Western Washington, through the densely populated central Puget Sound region, from Tacoma in the south to Bellevue in the north. Since 1997, the 9th district h ...

against incumbent Democratic Congressman Adam Smith, eventually losing to Smith by nearly 10 points. In 2012, he again ran, this time in

Washington's 10th congressional district Washington's 10th congressional district is a congressional district in western Washington. The district is centered on the state capital, Olympia, and includes portions of Thurston and Pierce counties (including parts of Tacoma). It was crea ...

against

Denny Heck Dennis Lynn Heck (born July 29, 1952) is an American entrepreneur and politician serving as the 17th lieutenant governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 10th con ...

, losing by 17 points. Muri, a

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

veteran, served 22 years in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. He and his wife are residents of

Steilacoom, Washington Steilacoom () is a town in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 6,727 at the 2020 census. Steilacoom incorporated in 1854 and became the first incorporated town in what is now the state of Washington. It has also become a ...

Personal life and career

Life and family

Town of Steilacoom Mayor Richard "Dick" Walter Muri was born November 30, 1953, in Fairbanks, Alaska. He graduated from Ashland High School in

Ashland, Massachusetts Ashland is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the MetroWest region. The population was 18,832 at the 2020 United States Census. History The area now known as Ashland was settled in the early 18th century an ...

in 1971 and received his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

, 1975 and his Masters of Public Administration from

Golden Gate University Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, and accounting. The university offers s ...

in 1988. Dick has been married since 1979 to Mary Muri (formerly Mary Burns - Lakes HS '75) and has four children, Jennifer, Jonathan, Sarah, and Bradley. Dick and Mary have twelve grandchildren, Makenna, Sterling, Garrison, Boone, Capri, Cannon, Cora, Blair, Aria, Warren, Huck and Juniper.

Military service

Dick was commissioned via ROTC at UMass Amherst as an officer in the

in 1975. He earned his navigator wings at Mather Air Force Base in 1976 and flew the

C-141 Starlifter The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the ...

at McChord Air Force Base as a Navigator in the 8th Military Airlift Squadron (MAS) from 1977 to 1985 and as a member of the 36th Airlift Squadron (AS) from 1991 to 1993. Muri was also assigned to the 62nd Airlift Wing as an Airlift Control Element (ALCE) Operations Officer and a Tactical Airlift Liaison Officer (TALO) from 1982 to 1984. Muri served at Travis Air Force Base from 1984 to 1989 as a member of the 22nd Air Force Staff and a member of the 1702 Mobility Support Squadron. Muri was a member of the Airlift Control Center (ALCC) Cadre and as a manager of the 22nd Air Force area TALOs. Muri served in the

from 1990 to 1991 as Director of Airlift Operations of the 628th Military Airlift Support Squadron at Incirlik Airbase,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. From 1992 to 1997, Muri was Chief of Quality Management for

McChord Air Force Base McChord Field is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord Field is the home of the 62d Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command, the field's primary mission being worldw ...

, directing a program that won numerous awards for excellence from the United States Air Force and

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. He retired as a Lt. Colonel with 22 years military experience on 1 January 1998.

Governmental leadership

Dick Muri took office as Pierce County Councilmember District 6 on November 19, 2003, serving Lakewood, Steilacoom, DuPont, Roy, McKenna, Fort Lewis, McChord AFB, and the island communities of Anderson, McNeil, and Ketron. Muri served in leadership positions as Chair of the Performance Audit Committee, Vice-chair of both the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Board and Select Committee for Emergency Preparedness, and co-chair of the Criminal Justice Task Force. Muri was a member of the following county council standing committees: Community Development, Economic Infrastructure & Development, and Public Safety & Human Services. External Boards and Commissions include the Joint City-Council Open Space Determination Board, Law and Justice Community Oversight Committee, Pierce County Reserve Officers Board of Trustees, Pierce Transit Board, Rainier Communications Commission, Zoo & Trek Authority (ZTA), Safe Streets, and Pierce County Law and Justice Council. Muri ran for his second term for Pierce County Councilmember District 6, promising to continue being the most accessible elected official for the council, and offering a strong record of open, efficient, and responsible County government. As chairman of the Performance Audit Committee, Muri worked with the Justice Management Institution to improve the processes involved in the Pierce County judicial system. As a Councilmember, Muri was committed to supporting veterans and protecting their 50,000 family wage jobs at

Joint Base Lewis McChord A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...

. He is also heavily involved with conservation and land preservation projects around the district, such as protecting the undeveloped Salter's Point woods in Steilacoom and expanding Lakewood's Wards Lake Park.

Community service

Muri received the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce John H. Anderson Military Citizen of the Year Award for 1996 and was inducted into the Fort Lewis Civilian Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Fort Lewis in January 2006. Other community recognition includes the 2002 Washington State District Three Middle School Wrestling Coach of the Year Award. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2017. He was selected out of 330 National Drive Electric Week "City Captains" as City Captain of the Year in 2018 by Plug In America. In 2019 Muri was selected by the Steilacoom Kiwanis and Chamber of Commerce as the Steilacoom Citizen of the Year. A Charter member of the Kiwanis Club of Steilacoom in 1993. He is Past President of the Steilacoom

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizati ...

Club - a community partner with the 42nd Military Police Brigade at Fort Lewis; a former member of the Steilacoom Historical School District #1 Board of Directors (1997 to 2004); Pierce County Council District # 6 2003 - 2012, 28th District State Representative Position # 1 2013 - 2018, co-founder and Director of the Steilacoom Lakewood Youth Wrestling Association (1991 to 2005); past member of Bates Management Training Center Board of Directors; and active member of many local Veteran organizations.

Congressional Campaigns

Muri challenged Democratic incumbent Adam Smith for . Smith defeated Muri 55% to 45% to remain in office. In 2012 Muri ran again for Congress, this time in the newly created 10th Congressional District. Muri was defeated in his bid to become the district's first congressman by former state legislator

58.6% to 41.4%.

Washington State House of Representatives

Appointment

On May 29, 2013, longtime state legislator Senator

died from complications with myelodysplastic syndrome. On June 5, 2013, Representative Steve O'Ban was appointed by the Pierce County Council to fill the vacant seat in the State Senate. On July 3, 2013, Muri was unanimously appointed by the Pierce County Council to fill the seat vacated by O'Ban.

Legislative Campaigns

;2014 Muri ran to retain his seat against Democratic challenger Mary Moss. Muri prevailed 57.8% to 42.2%.

Tenure

In 2018 Muri served as the assistant ranking member of the State of Washington House of Representatives Education Committee and assistant ranking member of the House Judiciary. Muri is also a former member of the House Early Learning and Human Services Committee.

Awards

* 2014 Guardians of Small Business award. Presented by NFIB.

References

External links

Dick Muri for State Representative
''official campaign site'' *
Financial information
at

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

Two from GOP to challenge Smith for Congress seat
by Brad Shannon,

The Olympian ''The Olympian'' is a newspaper based in Olympia, Washington, in the United States. History Olympia was home to the first newspaper to be published in modern-day Washington, ''The Columbian'', which published its first edition on September 11, ...

, 6/15/08
Second Republican enters race for Smith’s House seat
by David Wickert,

The News Tribune ''The News Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Tacoma, Washington. It is the second-largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington with a weekday circulation of 30,945 in 2020. With origins dating back to 1883, the newspaper w ...

, 5/30/08 {{DEFAULTSORT:Muri, Dick 1953 births Living people University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Golden Gate University alumni Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Candidates in the 2012 United States elections 21st-century American politicians United States Air Force personnel of the Gulf War Politicians from Fairbanks, Alaska Republican Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Pierce County Councillors People from Steilacoom, Washington United States Air Force officers Military personnel from Fairbanks, Alaska