Terrence P. Murphy (born July 5, 1966) is an American politician, chiropractor, and business owner from Jefferson Valley, New York. Murphy represented the 40th Senate District (which includes parts of Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester Counties) in the New York State Senate from 2015 to 2018.

Early life Murphy was born in Bronxville, New York, and grew up in Yorktown Heights, New York, the youngest of six children.Taliaferro, Lanning. "Murphy Sworn in as State Senator." Yorktown Patch. January 3, 2015.Hupfl, Ashley, Lentz, Jon Lentz, Johnson, Michael Gareth and Ponce de León, Gabe. "Meet the Class of 2015." City & State. January 6, 2015. <r

In 1999, he opened his own chiropractic practice, Yorktown Health and Wellness Center, in his hometown of Yorktown which is now closed.Valenti, Ken. "Peekskill entrepreneurs divide, conquer by opening 2nd businesses." Journal News. August 26, 2013. In addition to his chiropractor's office, for the next fifteen years, he served as an on-field volunteer medical advisor for local high school athletes.Pezzullo, Rick. "40th State Senate District: Terrence Murphy." The Examiner. October 28, 2014. In 2006, along with his siblings, he opened a family restaurant, Murphy's Irish Restaurant and Bar, named in honor of his father.Pezzullo, Rick. "Murphy Sworn in as State Senator in Yorktown Ceremony." The Examiner. January 2, 2015.

He is married, with three children. His wife is a nurse.Propper, Dave. "Murphy Touts Fiscal, Conservative Issues in State Senate Run." The Examiner. September 2, 2014. Together they founded a watchdog organization, Keeping Westchester Safe, which advocated for "Child Safety Zone" legislation, residency requirements for sex offenders that would prohibit them from residing within a certain distance of schools, playgrounds and other areas where children congregate.Howard, Brian. "Murphy, state lawmakers call for child safety zone law in Westchester." Journal News. November 1, 2011.

Political career In 2009, Murphy ran for and was elected to the Yorktown Town Board and was re-elected for a second term in 2013. He had a not very close race for the Westchester County Board of Legislators in 2011, which he lost following a recount.Swift, Jennifer. "Legislator Kaplowitz Outlasts Murphy in District 4." Yorktown Daily Voice. November 11, 2011. Murphy and his fellow council members were credited with approving more than $300 million in long-awaited economic development projects within the town, many of which had stalled for years under previous administrations, including a $60 million overhaul of the Jefferson Valley Mall and the redevelopment and widening of the Route 202 corridor.Barron, Sam. "Yorktown open for business." Westchester County Business Journal . January 31, 2013.Pesheva, Plamena. "Photos of Jefferson Valley Mall Expansion and Renovation Plan." Yorktown Patch. November 6, 2013.Marschhauser, Brian. "Gas stations approved for Costco, BJ's." Yorktown News. December 22, 2014.Howard, Brian. "Yorktown politics: Debates this week, teachers endorse, Murphy touts projects." Journal News. October 24, 2011.

During his local races, Murphy was the top vote-getter in the town of Yorktown and received the highest ever number of votes cast for a Town Board member in 2013.Marschhauser, Brian. "Murphy exploring run for Assembly." Yorktown News. January 23, 2014. As a Town Board member, he was invited to serve on both the New York State Assembly Task Force on Crime on Our Communities, also known as the Sex Offender Watch Task Force, as well as the Senate Task Force of Heroin and Opioid Addiction.Coyne, Matt. "State senator plans heroin forums, pitches drug plan." Journal News. January 28, 2015.Bruttell, Nathan. "Yorktown Budget Calls For Local Narcotics Unit." Yorktown Daily Voice. April 30, 2014.

In 2014, Murphy was tapped to succeed Senator Greg Ball, who had decided not to run for re-election.Barron, Sam. "Yorktown Councilman Terrence Murphy Running For Ball's State Senate Seat." Yorktown Daily Voice. May 19, 2014.Reisman, Nick. "With Ball Leaving, Murphy Formalizes Run For Senate." Capital Tonight. May 16, 2014. The suburban seat was targeted by New York City Democrats including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who funneled over $500,000 to Murphy's opponent through the use of straw donor committees using a loophole in New York State campaign finance law.Lovett, Ken. "County Democratic committees use even more NYC money to help fund unsuccessful upstate Senate Dem races." New York Daily News. December 1, 2014.Lovett, Ken. "Putnam County Republican chairman files formal complaint over Democratic donations." New York Daily News. October 30, 2014. The move allowed a few donors to give contributions far in excess of the legal limit to evade the cap that would have otherwise applied.Kramer, Marcia. "De Blasio's Fundraising Tactics In NY Senate Race Called Into Question." CBS 2. October 30, 2014. It was also alleged that de Blasio pressured donors with business before the City to make the donations to Murphy's opponent on his behalf, which made one donor feel "uncomfortable."Lovett, Ken. "Bill de Blasio fund-raiser asking for $50G to help Democrats capture state Senate made developer feel 'uncomfortable'." New York Daily News. October 29, 2014.Lovett, Ken. "Using campaign finance loophole, Mayor de Blasio steers huge amounts of money into Democratic battle for state Senate." New York Daily News. October 29, 2014. The Mayor also sent staff to work on the campaign of Murphy's opponent.Barkan, Ross. "Top Bill de Blasio Staffers Take Leave for the Campaign Trail." The New York Observer. October 23, 2014. In turn, the election was cast by Murphy as a battle of New York City interests against those of Hudson Valley, with de Blasio portrayed as something of a "bogeyman" according to the Journal News.Reisman, Phil. "Bill de Blasio haunts the burbs." Journal News. October 25, 2014.Bredderman, Will. "De Blasio Denies Dem Defeats in New York About Him." The New York Observer. November 5, 2015.

Although the 2014 State Senate race was expected to be one of the closest in the State, Murphy defeated his opponent by over ten points.Ganga, Lisa. "State Senate: Murphy beats Wagner in 40th District." Journal News. November 5, 2014.Redwood, Femi. "Hundreds pack Yorktown Heights inauguration ceremony for new state lawmaker." FiOS1. January 1, 2015.Goff, John. "Murphy sworn in as state senator for 40th District." News 12 Westchester. January 1, 2015. Upon taking office in January 2015, Murphy was named the chair of the Administrative Regulations Review Commission, an entity charged with reviewing proposed rules and regulations by State agencies and public authorities to examine their compliance with legislative intent and their potential impact on businesses and local governments."Rule Making Process." New York State Department of State Division of Administrative Rules. Retrieved January, 2015.Campbell, Jon. "Senate IDC hangs on to committee chairs." Journal News. January 22, 2015. The Senator was also named to the Banks, Ethics, Labor, Local Government, Health, Investigations and Government Operations, and Mental Health committees.Taliaferro, Lanning. "Murphy to Head State Senate Administrative Regulations Review Commission." Pleasantville-Briarcliff Patch. January 23, 2015. Murphy named combating heroin addiction and prescription drug abuse as a top priority for his first Senate term."Yorktown's Murphy Unveils Seven Point Plan To Fight Heroin." D.A.R.E.. October 16, 2014.

After being re-elected in 2016, Murphy was defeated by Democrat Peter Harckham in his 2018 re-election bid.

References

External links Murphy's Irish Restaurant, Yorktown Heights, NY, Murphy family restaurant Web site Terrence Murphy for New York State Senate campaign website Yorktown Health & Wellness Center, Murphy's chiropractic business website