Therese Murray
Therese Murray is a former Democratic member of the Massachusetts State Senate, representing the Plymouth and Barnstable district from 1992 to 2015. She served as President of the Senate from 2007 to 2015.
On February 8, 2014, Murray announced that she would not seek re-election in the 2014 election.[1]
Murray has served on the Plymouth Democratic Town Committee and Democratic State Committee.[2]
Biography
Murray attended Northeastern University, El Camino College, and Midwest Academy before earning her Management Program Certificate from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. Her professional experience includes working as a consultant.[2]
Issues
Common Cause award
Common Cause of Massachusetts awarded Murray a Legislative Achievement Award in June 2010 for her work on a 2009 law governing ethics, lobbying and campaign finance. The law Murray sponsored bans all gifts to public officials, imposed a civil violation for gifts up to $1,000 and made it a felony, both for the gift-giver and the gift-receiving state politicians, to receive a gift of anything with a value greater than $1,000. The felony charge comes with a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.[3]
Murray said of the award, "I am honored to receive this award for the work we did reforming our ethics laws. This legislation sent the message that we are serious about ethics reform, and that violations of ethics and campaign finance laws come with steep consequences. It was a significant bill that made our ethics laws among the strongest in the nation."[3]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Murray served on the following committees:
Massachusetts committee assignments, 2013 |
---|
Elections
2012
Murray won re-election in the 2012 election for Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth and Barnstable District. Murray defeated Stephen Michael Palmer in the September 6 Democratic primary and defeated Thomas Francis Keyes (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[4]
Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
---|---|---|
![]() |
86.8% | 9,176 |
Stephen Palmer | 13.2% | 1,400 |
Total Votes | 10,576 |
2010
Murray won re-election to the Plymouth and Barnstable District seat in 2010. She had no primary opposition. Thomas Francis Keyes ran for the seat on the Republican ticket. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.[5]
Massachusetts State Senate - Plymouth and Barnstable District | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Candidates | Votes | |||
![]() |
38,852 | |||
Thomas Francis Keyes (R) | 35,242 | |||
All Others | 35 | |||
Blanks | 2,335 |
2008
On November 4, 2008, Murray won re-election for the Senate election for the Plymouth and Barnstable district.[6] In this election she raised $745,874; of that total $698,278 (93.6%) was from in state contributions and $47,268 (6.3%) was from out of state contributions.[7]
Massachusetts State Senate - Plymouth and Barnstable district | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Candidates | Votes | |||
![]() |
68,908 | |||
All Others | 801 | |||
Blanks | 26,255 |
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Massachusetts scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 14 through August 1.
- Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization of employers.
- Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes."
- Legislators are scored on bills selected by a "statewide, grassroots [organization] for progressive change in Massachusetts."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on environmental issues.
2013
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
---|
In 2013, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 2 to December 31.
|
2012
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
---|
In 2012, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through July 31.
|
2011
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
---|
In 2011, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 5 through November 16.
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Therese Murray was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Murray has been involved with a number of organizations, including the Cape and Islands Democratic Council, Cranberry Station, Board of Directors, CURA, Democratic Leadership Council, Massachusetts Democratic Leadership Council, Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce, Plymouth County Democratic League, Plymouth Democratic County League, Plymouth League of Women Voters, VNA Plymouth, Women's Business Network, and the Women's Transportation Seminars, Boston.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Therese + Murray + Massachusetts + Senate
See also
- Massachusetts State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Joint Committees
- Massachusetts state legislative districts
- Massachusetts State Legislature
External links
- Campaign website
- Senator Murray's website
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998
- Therese Murray on Facebook
- Therese Murray on Twitter
- Therese Murray on YouTube
Footnotes
- ↑ Associated Press, "Mass. Senate President Therese Murray Won’t Seek Re-Election," February 8, 2014 accessed February 11, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Project Vote Smart, "Therese Murray's Biography," accessed November 18, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pembroke Express, "Murray recognized for championing ‘good government’ legislation," June 14, 2010
- ↑ AP "Massachusetts - Summary Vote Results," accessed September 6, 2012
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes For Massachusetts State Election - November 2, 2010," accessed November 18, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes For Massachusetts State Election - November 4, 2008," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Murray, Therese," accessed November 18, 2014
Political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by - |
Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth and Barnstable 1993-2015 |
Succeeded by Vinny deMacedo (R) |
![]() |
State of Massachusetts Boston (capital) |
---|---|
Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |