Mike Murphy (Washington politician)

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Michael J. "Mike" Murphy, an American politician, is the State Treasurer of Washington. He is a Democrat.

Murphy is a native of Seattle. He attended St. Edward Seminary in Kenmore, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Seattle University in 1969. After completing a tour of duty in the military, Murphy began work as a civil servant for the Office of the Washington State Treasurer (OST) in 1972. During his 15 years working for the OST, Murphy's assignments included administrator of the Public Deposit Protection Commission and internal auditor. In 1978, while working full-time for the OST, he completed his Master of Business Administration from Pacific Lutheran University.^[1]

In 1987, Murphy was appointed to serve as treasurer of Thurston County, the state's eighth-largest county. Later that year, he was elected to that office. He was re-elected in 1990 and 1994.

In 1996, Murphy ran for State Treasurer. He won that election, as well as his races for re-election in 2000 and 2004. In 2004, Murphy received 60% of the vote, followed by Republican Oscar S. Lewis who received 36%.^[2] Murphy is past President of the Western State Treasurers Association. He is one of ten voting members of the Washington State Investment Board, serves as chair for the Board's Audit Committee and is also a member of the Board's Private Markets Committee. As State Treasurer, he also chairs the State Finance Committee, which oversees the issuance and management of the state's debt which totals nearly $10 billion and is responsible for investments of more than $9 billion in the treasury portfolio, including $5 billion in the Local Government Investment Pool.^[3] He is also one of twelve people appointed by the governor to the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC).^[4]

Murphy is the eldest son of a family of 11 children. Murphy and his wife, Teri Smith Murphy, live in Olympia on their sailboat.