Texas Border Business
Special to Texas Border Business
Mark Murray is a longtime resident of District #5. He first moved to McAllen in 2005 and has lived in District 5 for over 12 years. He believes in integrity, ethical behavior, and fiscal responsibility.
In 2019, saving Fire Station #2 first inspired Mark to run for District #5 City Commissioner. When Commissioner Haddad announced his bid for the Texas House District 41 seat, Markrecognized that he was the most qualified candidate to fill the unexpired term. He believes public safety should be a top priority of city government.
Mark is a firm believer in public service over personal ambition. He wants more transparency in city government. If elected, he wants to be the Commissioner who responds to constituents’ needs. Mark wants to work for the benefit of “All”, not just special interest groups. He wants to ensure that McAllen’s (and the RGV’s) water infrastructure and supply, as well as the electric grid, can meet the demands of continued growth. Mark also wants to continue the downtown revitalization projects to encourage increased downtown shopping.
Mark Murray has been employed as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at South Texas College (STC) for over 20 years, where he teaches American Government and Texas Politics.For 3 years, he has served as the Political Science Department Chair, where he manages a budget for the 7th largest academic department at STC.
His education is extensive. He attended the University of Kentucky from 1997 to 2002 as a Ph.D. candidate in political science where he specialized in Transnational Politics with emphases inInternational Political Economy and Latin American Politics. His research involved whether regional trading blocs were trade creating or trade diverting.
He also studied at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan in the summer of 1998 focusing on Time-Series Analysis and Maximum Likelihood Estimation.
He received his master’s degree in political science from San Diego State University in 1997, where he specialized in Cross-national Politics with an emphasis in Latin American Politics. His master’s thesis is entitled “Privatization in Mexico and Russia: A Comparative Analysis”.
He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from California State University, Fullerton in 1993 and his associate’s degree from Saddleback College in 1990.
Mark Murray has been involved in various leadership positions at STC. He served as a Senator in the Faculty Senate from 2007 to 2009, President-Elect from 2009 to 2011, President from 2011 to 2013, and Past President from 2013 to 2015. He served again as Senator from 2016 to 2020 and as Parliamentarian from 2020 to 2024.
Mark is a member of the Texas Faculty Association (TFA), the National Education Association (NEA), and served in leadership positions for a statewide organization. He served as a member of the Texas Community College Teachers’ Association’s (TCCTA) Legislative Committee from 2015 to 2016 and the TCCTA Membership Services Committee from 2016 to 2019, where he served as the Committee Chair from 2017 to 2019. Mark is currently serving again as member of the TCCTA Legislative Committee.
Mark Murray is the President of Futuro RGV, a local, non-partisan social welfare organization.He has been active in local charitable organizations for many years, such as McAllen Citizens League, Operation Interdependence (for Veterans), and the McAllen Guns ‘N Hoses (McAllen Police and Firefighters) Benevolent Fund. Mark is also the Co-Captain for his Neighborhood Watch program.
Mark serves as Co-Chair of the McAllen Traffic Safety Commission and as a member of the McAllen Housing Finance Board. He is also the only McAllen resident who attends the City Commission Budget Workshops.
Mark Murray has always been passionate about his community and is eager to use his experience and skills to help the City of McAllen and its citizens continue to prosper.
He has been happily married to his wife, Irma (Moreno) Murray, for nearly 18 years. He has a daughter (Chrystale) and a grandson (Jasson).
