L. Dean Murray

L. Dean Murray (born July 22, 1964)[2] is an American politician and former Republican member of the New York State Assembly, representing the assembly's third district from 2010 to 2013 and again from 2015 to 2019. The district includes portions of the town of Brookhaven, including Bellport and Mastic Beach in Suffolk County on Long Island. Dean Murray was recently elected to serve in the New York State Senate after the 2022 elections.

Dean Murray
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 3rd district
Assumed office
January 1, 2023
Preceded byPhil Boyle (Redistricting)
Member of the New York Assembly
from the 3rd District
In office
January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2018
Preceded byEdward J. Hennessey
Succeeded byJoe DeStefano
In office
February 9, 2010 – January 1, 2013
Preceded byPatricia Eddington
Succeeded byEdward J. Hennessey
Personal details
Born
Leonard Dean Murray[1]

(1964-07-22) July 22, 1964
Washington, D.C.
Political partyRepublican
Alma materBroadcasting Institute of Maryland
WebsiteOfficial website

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.

Murray resides in East Patchogue, New York; he previously lived in Coram, New York for 15 years. He is divorced and has one son, Anthony.

Political career

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]

Election history
Location Year Election Results
Suffolk County
District 7		 2009 General √ Jack Eddington (I) 51.74%
Dean Murray (R) 48.26%
New York Assembly
District 3		 2010 Special √ L. Dean Murray (R) 50.93%
Laura Thoden (D) 49.07%
New York Assembly
District 3		 2010 General √ L. Dean Murray (R) 53.25%
Robert Calarco (D) 46.72%
New York Assembly
District 3		 2012 General √ Edward Hennessey (D) 50.32%
L. Dean Murray (R) 49.68%
New York Assembly
District 3		 2016 General √ L. Dean Murray (R)
Gregory D. Schoen (D)
New York Senate
District 3		 2018 General √ Monica R. Martinez
L. Dean Murray (R)

References
  1. "Leonard Dean Murray". opengovny.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  2. Whittle, Patrick (October 5, 2009). "Suffolk 7th District: Jack Eddington, L. Dean Murray". Newsday. Retrieved March 4, 2011. Murray, 45, a Maryland native who recently moved to East Patchogue after living in Coram for about 15 years...
  3. "Meet the First Tea Party Activist to Be Elected Into Office". Fox News Channel. February 19, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  4. "Final Results of General Election on Tuesday, November 3, 2009". Suffolk County Board of Elections. November 3, 2009.
  5. "Murray Wins Suffolk Assembly Election". Long Island Press (AP). February 17, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  6. "Statement of Canvas: 3rd Assembly District" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. February 9, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  7. Brand, Rick. "Hennessey unseats Assemb. Murray in 3rd District". Newsday. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  8. "General Election Results, State Assembly: November 6, 2012" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. April 9, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2013.
  9. Weaver, Teri (September 8, 2014). "Barclay: Bugging NY Democratic lawmaker's car was 'opposition research,' no reason to apologize". syracuse.com. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  10. Editorials (September 13, 2014). "Stop slimy spying: Secret GPS tracking, banned for law enforcement, should be off-limits for civilians too". Daily News. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  11. Brand, Rick (September 6, 2014). "GOP uses tracking device to probe Assemb. Edward Hennessey's 3rd District residency". Newsday. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  12. "Sepreme Court Testimony August 1, 2014 Murray v. Hennessey". Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  13. Schwartz, David M. (November 13, 2014). "Dean Murray declared winner in 3rd Assembly District". Newsday. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  14. "NYS Board of Elections Assembly Election Returns Nov. 8, 2016" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections.
  15. "Our Campaigns - NY State Senate 03 Race - Nov 06, 2018". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  16. "Certified Results from the November 6, 2018 General Election for NYS Senate" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections.
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