Local education leader, business owner and veteran Mickey Murphy announced recently that he will be a candidate for Louisiana State Senate District 12 in the Oct. 24 primary.

Murphy said he is running to be a voice for the citizens of District 12 in Baton Rouge.

“I’m running for the state Senate so I can go to Baton Rouge and stand up for Northshore families and working people — the parents working two jobs to make ends meet, the college students paying twice as much to attend college as they did eight years ago, and for our seniors and veterans who need access to affordable healthcare close to home,” said Murphy. “I’ll have the courage to stand up to the high priced lobbyist paid for by out of state corporations. The people of District 12 deserve a strong voice in the Legislature, and that is exactly what I will be.”

Murphy also said his campaign will focus on higher education and job training.

“I’ve spent over 30 years as an educator, from a public school teacher to a welding instructor to dean of the Sullivan Campus of the Louisiana Technical College. Education and job training is the key to attracting and keeping good paying jobs. But recently it seems like all the crowd in Baton Rouge can do is cut those programs and keep giving big business and their lobbyists sweetheart deals and outrageously generous tax breaks,” he said.

Murphy pledged to run an aggressive campaign focused on door knocking and phone banking.

“I am going to knock on as many doors in the district as I can,” he said. “I’m going to bring my campaign right to our neighbors’ front yards and talk about the issues we are facing as a state.”

Murphy has been married to his wife, Joy, for 46 years, and they reside in Bogalusa where they attend Annunciation Church. He is an Army veteran who served as a drill instructor in an

Advanced Infantry Training Brigade during the Vietnam War and was named Drill Sergeant of the Year in 1971. He is a past commander of the American Legion Magic City Post 24. Murphy was dean of the Sullivan Campus of the Louisiana Technical College in Bogalusa and was appointed by two governors to the Board of Supervisors of the Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges.

He and Joy have one daughter and two grandchildren.