Tim Murphy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2013 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's18th district | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – October 21, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Conor Lamb |
| Member of thePennsylvania Senate from the37th district | |
| In office January 7, 1996 – January 3, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Fisher |
| Succeeded by | John Pippy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Timothy Francis Murphy (1952-09-11)September 11, 1952 (age 73) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Nanette Missig |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander[1] |
| Unit | United States Navy Reserve |
Murphy supporting the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016. Recorded July 18, 2016 | |
Timothy Francis Murphy (born September 11, 1952) is an American former politician and psychologist who served as theU.S. representative forPennsylvania's 18th congressional district from 2003 until his resignation in 2017.[2] The district included several suburbs south ofPittsburgh. A member of theRepublican Party, he also represented the37th Senate district in thePennsylvania State Senate from 1996 to 2003. Murphy consistently carried the 18th district with at least 58% of the vote, including unopposed re-election bids in2014 and2016.
In October 2017, it was reported Murphy urged a mistress to have anabortion despite his strict publicanti-abortion stance, which was followed by reports of endemic abuse and harassment in his congressional office.[3][4] Murphy resigned immediately following these scandals, with his seat won byDemocratConor Lamb in aspecial election.[5]
One of eleven children,[2] Murphy was born inCleveland and was raised inNorthfield, Ohio, where he attended St. Barnabas Catholic School andWalsh Jesuit High School. He received hisBachelor of Science fromWheeling Jesuit University, hisMA fromCleveland State University, and hisPhD inpsychology from theUniversity of Pittsburgh.[2] Upon leaving school, he became a practicingpsychologist and anassistant professor at theUniversity of Pittsburgh. He also made regular appearances onKDKA-TV in Pittsburgh from 1979 to 1995 as a health-care expert.[6]
Murphy co-wroteThe Angry Child (2002), which won the National Parenting Publications Award and was featured onBook TV.[7] A few years later, he co-wroteOvercoming Passive-Aggression (2005), again with Loriann Hoff Oberlin, a writer/author and mental-health counselor.Overcoming Passive-Aggression received abundant reviews, including some from specialist mental health publications. Murphy has been interviewed by reporters fromPsychology Today,[8]The Washington Post,USA Today,CBS Early Show, CNN,[9]Face the Nation,[10] C-SPAN, and others in the media on the topics of mental health, anger management and violence, parenting, and relationships.
In 1996, Republican incumbentState Sen.Michael Fisher decided not to run for re-election in order to run forPennsylvania Attorney General. Murphy decided to run inPennsylvania's 37th Senate district and won the Republican primary, defeating John Schnatterly 70%–30%.[11] In the general election, he defeated State RepresentativeGreg Fajt 55%–45%.[11] In 2000, he won re-election to a second term, defeating Joseph Rudolph 64%–36%.[11]
As a state senator, Murphy wrote the Pennsylvania Patient Bill of Rights and supported public funding for medical research. In 2002, the political websitePoliticsPA named him to the list of "Smartest Legislators".[12] He resigned his state senate seat on January 3, 2003.
After redistricting, Murphy ran for the newly redrawn18th Congressional District in2002. The district had previously been the 20th, represented by four-termDemocratFrank Mascara. However, the legislature re-drew the district after the 2000 Census in such a way that a large portion of Mascara's district ended up in the neighboringJohnstown-based 12th District, represented by an incumbent of 28-yearsJohn Murtha. The new district lines were harshly criticized, in part because in some areas portions of several neighborhoods—and even streets—were split between districts. In parts of the eastern part of the district, one side of the street was in the 18th while the other was in the 12th. In parts of the western portion, one side of the street was in the 18th while the other was in the14th. In the most extreme example, nearly all of Mascara's hometown ofCharleroi was drawn into the 12th district, except that a long tendril extending from Allegheny County to Mascara's house stayed in the 18th.[13]
After a legal battle, the courts largely upheld Pennsylvania's redistricting plan after some minor modifications. Murphy was a member of the committee that redrew Pennsylvania's congressional map, and rumors abounded that he'd reconfigured the district for himself, even though numerous Democrats were also on the committee. Mascara challenged Murtha in the Democratic primary for the 12th District, since the newly configured 12th was geographically more his district than Murtha's. However, Murtha easily defeated Mascara. This removed a significant barrier to Murphy. Even though Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 70,000 registered voters, it was somewhat friendlier to Republicans than the old 20th had been.
Murphy won the Republican primary unopposed and won the general election, defeating Democrat Jack Machek 60%–40%.[14]
Murphy won re-election to a second term, defeating Mark Boles 63%–37%.[15]
In 2006, Murphy was confronted byKDKA News reporter Andy Sheehan with evidence indicating his District Office employees were illegally working on his campaign.[16] Murphy was challenged by Democrat Chad Kluko, a telecommunications executive, in the November 2006 general election. Murphy won re-election to a third term, defeating Kluko 58%–42%.[17]
Murphy was challenged by DemocratSteve O'Donnell, aMonroeville health care executive. Murphy won re-election to a fourth term, defeating O'Donnell 64%–36%.[18][19]
Murphy was challenged by Democrat Dan Connolly. Murphy was endorsed by Veterans of Foreign Wars PAC[20] and theUS Chamber of Commerce.[21] Murphy won re-election to a fifth term, defeating Connolly 67%–33%.[22]
For the first time in Murphy's career, he was challenged in the Republican primary. Evan Feinberg, also ofUpper St. Clair, was a 28-year-old political novice and "Tea Party" favorite,[23] was endorsed by SenatorsRand Paul andTom Coburn,FreedomWorks, and ABC Contractors. Murphy had the backing of twoanti-abortion groups:National Right to Life Committee and PA Pro-Life Federation. He was also endorsed by former GovernorTom Ridge, former CongresswomanMelissa Hart, Allegheny County Republican Party ChairmanJim Roddey, State RepresentativeMark Mustio, State Senate candidate D. Raja, theNRA Political Victory Fund,[24][25] and theFraternal Order of Police of Allegheny County.[26][27][28] Murphy won the primary 63%–33%.[29][30] In the general election, he won re-election to his sixth term, defeatingWashington County Commissioner Larry Maggi 64%–36%.[31][32]
Murphy successfully ran for re-election to a seventh term in the U.S. House in the 2014 election. He was re-nominated unopposed in the Republican primary and was unopposed in the general election, since no candidates filed to run in the Democratic primary.[33][34]
Murphy was unopposed in the primary and the general election. He was re-elected to his eighth term in the U.S. House. This would be his last election to the House after later resigning on October 21, 2017.
On November 26, 2005, Murphy was injured during a traffic accident in Iraq while riding in a van along with fellow CongressmenJim Marshall andIke Skelton. The van swerved off the road to avoid an oncoming vehicle and overturned, injuring Murphy and Skelton. The two were airlifted toIbn Sina Hospital inBaghdad. After anMRI indicated head and neck injuries, Murphy was flown to the U.S. Military'sLandstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for further tests, which indicated no permanent damage. After wearing aneck brace for a brief period, Murphy made a full recovery.[35][36]
He opposed both Wall Street bailouts in 2008, the $820 billion stimulus package supported by President Obama, and the climate change/greenhouse gas initiative bill known as "Cap and Trade".[37]
Murphy was named a "Hero of the Taxpayer" byAmericans for Tax Reform.[38] Notably, he voted to increase thedebt limit along with historic budget cuts in August 2011.[39] Prior to that, he approved the "short term" debt limit increase.[40]
Murphy supported a House earmark ban in theory but made nearly $14 million in earmark requests in 2010.[41] The left-leaning lobbying group calledCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released its third annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress titled "Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch)".[42] Murphy was included on the list. CREW issued its analysis of Murphy's alleged ethical lapses.[43]
Murphy co-sponsored theCurrency Reform for Fair Trade Act, along with Democratic RepresentativeTim Ryan of Ohio. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives on September 29, 2010, received bi-partisan support. The final vote was 348–79. The measure would authorize theUnited States Department of Commerce to impose tariffs and countervailing duties against goods from countries with currencies that it deems are undervalued.[44]
Murphy told WDUQ that the goal was to "protect domestic manufacturers and the steel industry from countries unwilling to compete fairly in the global marketplace". He added that by tying China's currency to the dollar and not floating its currency on the open market, China could undercut US manufacturers by 40%. In other words, manufacturers in China could make and ship products to the US for less than a US manufacturer could buy the raw materials.[45] The Senate failed to take up the legislation, and Murphy reintroduced the bi-partisan measure in February 2011.[45]
Followingthe shooting of Arizona CongresswomanGabby Giffords (D-AZ), Murphy and Mental Health Caucus co-chairGrace Napolitano (D-CA) spoke with national media about mental health issues.[46] Both members also held briefings for congressional staffers with questions on the shooting.[47]
Followingthe December 14, 2012 mass shooting of school children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Murphy organized a series of hearings across the nation on the issue of mental health.[48] Adam Lanza, the perpetrator of the shooting, had been diagnosed with a range of mental health problems which deteriorated severely and, "combined with an atypical preoccupation with violence... (and) access to deadly weapons... proved a recipe for mass murder," according to the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate.[49]
Murphy's hearings included testimony by families who experienced firsthand the shortage of available beds and the legal limits placed on efforts to get help for members. Virginia State Sen. Creigh Deeds recounted the death of his son who, after being recommended for psychiatric commitment, was sent home because of a lack of available beds. Gus Deeds went on to stab his father before committing suicide.[50]
Murphy drafted a bill called the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 422–2 in July 2016.[51] The bill attracted support in the press and with various advocacy organizations, with one writer in The Wall Street Journal pointing out that Murphy's bill was the only one likely to have prevented shootings such as those that felled Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, as well as other victims of a spate of shootings.[52]
The bill was later folded into the larger 21st Century Cures Act and included the following provisions:[53]
Murphy previously served on the Veterans Affairs and Government Reform committees.[54][55]
In early September 2017, Murphy admitted to an extramarital affair with Shannon Edwards, a 32-year-oldforensic psychologist. The affair came to light in the course of Edwards' divorce proceedings. On October 3, 2017, Murphy's hometown newspaper, thePittsburgh Post-Gazette, reported that a text message on January 5 of that year from Edwards to Murphy included the statement, "[Y]ou have zero issue posting yourpro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options" in the midst of an unfounded pregnancy scare. To which Murphy replied, "I get what you say about my March for life messages. I've never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don't write any more. I will."[61]
In the same article, thePost-Gazette published a June 8 memorandum from Murphy's chief of staff to Murphy complaining of the congressman's repeated harassment of staff and his "hostile, erratic, unstable, angry, aggressive and abusive behavior", which led to an "inability to hire and retain competent staff, [and] abysmal office morale".[62][5]
On October 4, Murphy announced that he would not run for an eighth term in 2018. During the next 24 hours, several former staffers came forward with claims of an abusive environment in his office. By October 5, House Republican leaders concluded the allegations should be investigated by theHouse Ethics Committee. Fearing that a wave of unflattering stories would be published, creating a distraction, they pressed Murphy to leave immediately. Accordingly, he resigned from the House on October 21.[63][4]
In February 2018, Edwards announced that she intended to run for Congress and that she expected the affair with Murphy to be a campaign issue.[64] However, she did not file the paperwork to run in the2018 elections.[65]
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002★ | Jack Machek | 79,451 | 40% | Tim Murphy | 119,885 | 60% | ||
| 2004 | Mark G. Boles | 117,420 | 37% | Tim Murphy | 197,894 | 63% | ||
| 2006★ | Chad Kluko | 105,419 | 42% | Tim Murphy | 144,632 | 58% | ||
| 2008 | Steve O'Donnell | 116,446 | 36% | Tim Murphy | 206,916 | 64% | ||
| 2010 | Dan Connolly | 77,212 | 33% | Tim Murphy | 158,224 | 67% | ||
| 2012 | Larry Maggi | 115,975 | 36% | Tim Murphy | 204,784 | 64% | ||
| 2014 | Tim Murphy | 166,076 | 100% | |||||
| 2016 | Tim Murphy | 293,684 | 100% |
★Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2002, write-ins received 13 votes. In 2006, write-ins received 189 votes.
Murphy is married to Nanette Missig. They have one daughter, Bevin, and multiple grandchildren.[70]
Media related toTimothy F. Murphy at Wikimedia Commons
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 18th congressional district 2003–2017 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
