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Matt Murphy (Texas)
Matt Murphy was a 2016 Republican candidate for District 147 of the Texas House of Representatives.
Murphy was a 2015 nonpartisan candidate for the At-large 4 seat of the Houston City Council in Texas. Murphy lost the general election on November 3, 2015.
Biography
Raised in Edgewood, Texas, Murphy served in the U.S. Navy as a damage control fire fighter. After his service, he played professional golf and later became a certified fire protection engineering designer.[1]
Campaign themes
2015
Murphy's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[2]
Accountability
- Excerpt: "Politicians are supposed to be accountable to the majority of voters, yet less than 20% of the population actually votes. This flaw in the balance of power leaves career politicians with free reign [sic] to push their own social agenda and cronyism without repercussions. In order to stop this we need a grassroots effort to educate people that our voices matter, not only just the act of voting, but by encouraging broader participation in public processes. We need to instill a sense of civic duty in our neighbors and inspire our children as our parents did for us. Let’s refocus our attention to municipal elections where the top down approach has been all too prevalent – and is plainly not working."
Responsibility
- Excerpt: "We should be motivated by our next generation to live up to our responsibility as political leaders and constituents so we don’t leave children like my son cleaning up our mess. Now is the time to start spending responsibly because it’s the right thing to do. To put it in simple terms: If I commit to owe you $100 a day for the rest of your life, but I only make $10 a day; there can only be one result: economic failure. Either you only get $10 a day, or I keep borrowing $90 until the credit is completely maxed out. Eventually we will all go bankrupt, our deal is lost, and our houses fall down from neglect."
Community
- Excerpt: "My core values have taught me to 'Love Thy Neighbor' regardless of who they are. Our team shares a 'Campaign of Now' mentality where we don’t wait to get elected to make a difference today. We are investing in local communities now to bring people together and be a catalyst for lasting change. I believe that if we know our neighbors name, then we are obligated to look after them regardless of our differences."
Elections
2016
Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015.[3]
Incumbent Garnet Coleman defeated Matt Murphy and Brian Harrison in the Texas House of Representatives District 147 general election.[4]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 147 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Garnet Coleman Incumbent |
76.27% | 43,900 | |
| Republican | Matt Murphy | 20.82% | 11,985 | |
| Green | Brian Harrison | 2.91% | 1,676 | |
| Total Votes | 57,561 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Garnet Coleman ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 147 Democratic Primary.[5][6]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 147 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Garnet Coleman Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Matt Murphy ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 147 Republican Primary.[5][6]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 147 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Matt Murphy (unopposed) | |
2015
- See also: Houston, Texas municipal elections, 2015
The city of Houston, Texas, held elections for mayor and city council on November 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was August 24, 2015.[7] In the race for At-Large Position 4, Roy Morales and Amanda Edwards defeated Larry Blackmon, Jonathan Hansen, Matt Murphy, Laurie Robinson and Evelyn Husband Thompson in the general election. Edwards defeated Morales in the runoff election on December 12, 2015.[8][9]
Amanda Edwards defeated Roy Morales in the runoff election.
| Houston City Council At-large Position 4, Runoff election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Amanda Edwards |
61.5% | 106,126 |
| Roy Morales | 38.5% | 66,372 |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 |
| Total Votes (100% of precincts reporting) | 172,498 | |
| Source: Harris County, Texas, "Runoff Election Results," December 12, 2015 | ||
| Houston City Council At-large Position 4, General election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Amanda Edwards |
34.9% | 67,261 |
| Roy Morales |
16.9% | 32,563 |
| Laurie Robinson | 16.4% | 31,628 |
| Evelyn Husband Thompson | 13.4% | 25,880 |
| Matt Murphy | 9.2% | 17,722 |
| Larry Blackmon | 5.8% | 11,101 |
| Jonathan Hansen | 3.3% | 6,444 |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 |
| Total Votes (100% of precincts reporting) | 192,599 | |
| Source: Harris County Texas, "Official general election results," accessed November 16, 2015 | ||
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Murphy and his wife, Rachel, live in the Riverside Terrace neighborhood. They have one son, Shawn, who was born with rare birth defects that required surgical assistance during his first year of life.[1] Regarding Shawn's journey, Murphy's website said,
| “ | Presented with the option of terminating the pregnancy early on, Matt and Rachel resoundingly chose life. Inspired by his son’s resilience and determination, Matt committed to ensuring other families would not have to go through similar experiences alone. Partnering with Texas Children’s Hospital, he started the Shawn’s Anomaly awareness campaign, providing education, hope & help to families affected by birth defects.
Called to continue these efforts, Matt documented his transformative journey from an overweight smoker to an Ironman Triathlete. Uniting a strong, diverse group of fellow citizens, Matt’s efforts inspired others, garnered international recognition, and raised life-saving donations. Ultimately, Matt became a two-time Ironman Triathlete, and carried a flag draped with names of children affected by birth defects the entire 26.2 mile run. Today, Shawn is a happy and healthy 6 year old.[1][10] |
” |
| —Campaign website of Matt Murphy | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Matt Murphy Texas House. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Houston, Texas
- Houston, Texas municipal elections, 2015
- United States municipal elections, 2015
- Texas House of Representatives
- Texas House of Representatives District 147
- Texas House of Representatives elections, 2016
- Texas State Legislature
External links
- Official campaign website
- Matt Murphy on Facebook
- Matt Murphy on Twitter
- Texas House of Representatives
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Official campaign website of Matt Murphy, "About Matt," accessed September 16, 2015
- ↑ Official campaign website of Matt Murphy, "Issues," accessed September 16, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History results," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Harris County, "Important 2015 Election Dates," accessed January 12, 2015
- ↑ City of Houston website, "November 3, 2015 General Election Candidates," accessed August 27, 2015
- ↑ Harris County Texas, "Unofficial general election results," accessed November 3, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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