Jason Murphey
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| Jason Murphey | |
 Jason Murphey |
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| In office 2006 – Present |
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| Preceded by | Dale Depue |
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| Constituency | 31st House District |
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| Born | 1977 Guthrie, Oklahoma |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Raleah |
| Children | Jarod, Jarel |
| Residence | Guthrie, Oklahoma |
| Religion | Protestant |
| Website | http://www.housedistrict31.com |
Jason Murphey is an Republican politician State Representative for House District 31 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives representing Logan and Oklahoma Counties and the towns of Edmond, Guthrie, Meridian, Mulhall, Marshall, Cashion, Orlando, and Crescent. Murphey is the only known Homeschool graduate to serve in the Oklahoma Legislature in modern times.
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[edit] Biography
Jason W. Murphey is as a third generation, life-time resident of Logan County. In 1996 he married his wife, Raleah, and has two children.
Jason started his own business at the age of 19 when as Executive Officer of G&C Security, INC he provided security services to the Oklahoma City area. In 2000 he started his second business, Webteks, providing web development and media content which allowed citizens to be informed about happenings in the government.
In 2001, Jason was elected Guthrie City Councilman where he worked to open up the government to the people. His term was marked by a consistent push for government reforms ranging from his successful effort to place government proceedings on television and the internet so citizens could view them, to defeating property and sales tax increases, cutting thousands of dollars of spending, cutting the size of the budget, endeavoring to apply the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights to local government.
Jason worked two jobs to pay his way to attend college. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts degree in May of 2006 from Charter Oak State College [1] with National Honors. Jason attends church at Church of God Outreach in rural Logan County.
[edit] Campaign
In 2004 Murphey ran in a open race for House District 31 and placed first in the six candidate Republican primary with 44% of the vote leading many to think Murphey was a certain choice to win in the ensuring run-off with Dale Depue who received 24% of the vote in the primary. The Murphey-Depue runoff would receive statewide attention when a series of four mailers created by Oklahomans for Ethical Government, an unknown group, arrived the day before the runoff election attacking Murphey. Depue denied involvement in the mailers and would go on to win the run-off on the next day marking one of the largest come from behind wins in Oklahoma's political history.
In 2006 Murphey announced his campaign in wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal and pledged that he will not accept political contributions or personal gifts from lobbyists. Murphey became the only Oklahoma Republican candidate to defeat a Republican Incumbent in the party primary.
[edit] Misc
Murphey appears to maintain close ties to the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee OCPAC. Each year OCPAC grades Oklahoma Lawmakers with its conservative index. The index angers many lawmakers who call into question the method my which members decide what is and what is not conservative. The index is published in the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper. Murphey is the webmaster for the Constitution.
[edit] 2006 Pay Cut Proposal
Early in the 07 legislative session Murphey sent the following press release.
Murphey Presents Plan to Cut Legislative Pay
January 25, 2007 GUTHRIE - (January 25, 2007) - Saying he can think of no better place to trim state waste than the Oklahoma Legislature, state Rep. Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie) today announced the introduction of House Joint Resolution 1007. Murphey's resolution calls for a vote of the people to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to slash state legislators' pay. If approved by the voters, the amendment would cut Oklahoma legislative annual salaries from $38,400 per year to match the annual income of the average Oklahoman, which now stands at $29,908.
Murphey also presented the first of 12 monthly donations totaling $8,492 from his paycheck (the difference between his legislative salary and the average Oklahoman's salary) to officials from Crossroads, An Open Door For Life Choices, INC. Crossroads, located in Guthrie. Crossroads provides faith-based, pro-life counseling and support services to expectant mothers.
Murphey said that Oklahoma legislators are the third highest paid part-time legislators in the nation, making more than double the regional average of $18,333.
"In order to reform government we must cut out wasteful state government spending. I hope most would agree that it is wasteful to pay legislators more than double the regional average," Murphey said.
Murphey's proposal would index legislative pay to the annual income of the average Oklahoman.
Current Regional Legislative Pay
Oklahoma $38,400 per year Missouri $31,351 per year Colorado $30,000 per year Arkansas $14,067 per year Kansas $83.14 per day ($7,316 on 88 day session) Texas $7,200 per year New Mexico $0 per year Regional Average $18,333
Regional Legislative Pay If HJR1007 Is Approved By the Voters
Missouri $31,351 per year Colorado $30,000 per year Oklahoma $29,908 per year Arkansas $14,067 per year Kansas $83.14 per day ($7,316 on 88 day session) Texas $7,200 per year New Mexico $0 per year Regional Average $17,120 per year
Top 5 Highest Paid Part-Time Legislatures in the Nation (out of 39 that do not serve year-round)
Maryland $40,500 Delaware $39,785 Oklahoma $38,400 Hawaii $35,000 Washington $34,227
- Compensation and part-time status information taken from the National Conference of State Legislatures. www.ncsl.org
Crossroads: an Open Door for Life Choices, Inc. of Guthrie, Oklahoma Crossroads is a Christian ministry dedicated to the sanctity of human life, the belief in abstinence until marriage and the teaching of sound Christian precepts of life-style and parenting.
Crossroads provides an opportunity to reach out in love to pregnant young women and single mothers and assists them emotionally, spiritually and physically. It provides programs to save the life of the unborn, teaches Christ-centered principles of parenting and living, provides for material needs and offers support for women who have had abortions. Crossroads also presents adoption as a loving parenting option.
[edit] External links
| Oklahoma House of Representatives | Oklahoma Senate |
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Speaker – Lance Cargill |
President of the Senate – Lt. Governor Jari Askins |
