Kevin Murray, Former State Senator and Weingart Center Leader, Dies at 66
LOS ANGELES - Kevin Murray, who served alongside his father in California's Assembly before rising to Senate leadership and later heading the Weingart Center's homelessness services organization, has died at 66. Murray died Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Sentinel reported, according to City News Service on Thursday. A cause of death was not disclosed.A Los Angeles Democrat, Murray spent 12 years in the Legislature. He represented the 47th Assembly District from 1994 to 1998, then served in the 26th Senate District from 1998 to 2006.His election to the Assembly brought a California first. Murray became the first member to serve alongside his father, Assemblyman Willard H. Murray Jr.Murray's legislative work included sponsoring a 1997 identity-theft law, among the nation's earliest measures aimed at protecting consumers from the crime.He chaired the Assembly Transportation Committee and later chaired the Senate Appropriations and Transportation committees. He also led the Senate Democratic Caucus and the California Legislative Black Caucus, roles documented in UC Berkeley's account of his legislative career .After his legislative career, Murray eventually became president and CEO of the Weingart Center Association, a Skid Row-based nonprofit providing housing and services for people experiencing homelessness.The organization's work
