Timothy Murphy

Timothy Murphy graduated from Lone Oak High School. Murphy earned a bachelor's degree from Centre College in 2004, graduated from the Eden Theological Seminary in 2007, and earned a Ph.D. from the Claremont School of Theology in 2014. Murphy's career experience includes working as a pastor.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’ve called Fort Wayne home since 2018. Having grown up in the neighboring state of Kentucky, I eventually made my way here through work after having spent time in Missouri and California.

This is the first time that I have run for office. It wasn’t something I thought I would do. My full-time work is serving as a pastor of a local church. I was satisfied focusing on helping improve people’s lives through building community, speaking to their deepest values, and advocating for a more just society from the outside.

However, the unresponsive and unrepresentative state of our current democracy demanded something else. I believe that everyone deserves to live lives of dignity, where they have a chance to thrive and no one has so much more resources and power that they can silence the legitimate concerns of others. Our society is wildly out of balance when it comes to inequality, opportunity, and having a voice in the decisions that affect us the most.

I’m not afraid to take on difficult odds. The deck may feel stacked against us, but I’m ready to help make the impossible possible!

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Our economic and political system does not work for most people, and we need to fix our representative democracy in Indiana so that we can solve the policy problems that are hurting so many Hoosiers.We need to make it easier for Hoosiers to pursue their dreams and have a good quality of life by having a strong safety net in our state. This includes universal child care in every county, paid parental leave, paid sick leave, affordable health care, good paying jobs, an option to form and join a union, and a living wage, funded through a progressive state income tax.The efforts of some people to demonize and scapegoat certain minority groups, including migrants and religious and sexual minorities, is an intentional distraction to keep people mad and not address the ways their lives are made worse off by policies that only benefit the well-off and well-connected.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I care deeply about expanding freedom and fairness in our state. This is not just the freedom to be left alone, but also the freedom to have a good education, health care, housing, and to live in a fair society. I believe in real equal opportunity, where the county you were born in or the background or class of your family of origin do not statistically impact your odds of success.

Policy areas include democratic reform, economic justice, taxes, supporting families, and an environment we can all enjoy for generations to come.