Michael John Gray

Michael John Gray (born June 30, 1976)[1] is a farmer with a law degree in Augusta in Woodruff County, Arkansas, who is a Democratic departing state representative for District 47, which includes portions of Independence, Jackson, White and his own Woodruff counties in the eastern portion of his state. He was elected in March 2017 as the state Democratic Party chairman. On November 6, 2018, he was narrowly defeated in his bid for a third legislative term by Republican Craig Christiansen, 3,643 votes (50.7 percent) to 3,545 (49.3 percent).[2]

Michael Gray
Chair of the Arkansas Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office March 26, 2017
Preceded by	Vincent Insalaco
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the 47th district
In office January 12, 2015 – January 2019
Preceded by	Jody Dickinson
Succeeded by	Craig Christiansen
Personal details
Born	(1976-06-30) June 30, 1976 Blytheville, Arkansas USA
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Amy Gray
Children	1
Education	Arkansas State University, Beebe Arkansas State University, Jonesboro (BA) University of Arkansas, Little Rock (JD)

Background

Gray holds both an Associate of Arts from Arkansas State University at Beebe and Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. He obtained a Juris Doctorate from the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University in Arkansas at Little Rock. He is the owner of Wakefield Partners in Augusta.[3] Gray is affiliated with the Augusta and McCrory Chambers of Commerce and the Woodruff County Farm Bureau. He is a founding member and the secretary of the Arkansas Peanut Growers Association. Gray is a member of the First United Methodist Church in Augusta. He and his wife, Amy, have one son, who was born in October 2014.[4]

Political life

Gray is a former member of the Augusta City Council, to which he was elected in 2010 and served two terms.[3] In 2014, he was elected in House District 47 to succeed the term-limited Democrat Jody Dickinson. He was unopposed in both the Democratic primary, and the general election. He was defeated in the November, 2018 general election by Republican Craig Christiansen.[5]

Representative Gray held these committee assignments in his first term (2015-2016): (1) Vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Advanced Communications and Information Technology, (2) City, County and Local Affairs, and (3) Education.[4] The House Education chairman appointed him to Academic Facilities Oversight Committee. In 2015, he was elected vice chairman of the freshman class.

In September 2015, Representative Gray was elected by his House Democratic colleagues as the chairman of their caucus, a position he held until June 2017, when David Whitaker was named to succeed him.

In March 2017, the Democratic State Central Committee named Gray as the state party chairman.

References

1. "Michael John Gray". intelius.com. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
2. "Election Returns: Arkansas House of Representatives". Bing.com. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
3. "Michael Gray's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
4. "Michael John Gray". arkansashouse.org. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
5. "District 47". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved April 15, 2015.

Arkansas House of Representatives
Preceded by Jody Dickinson	Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for the 47th district 2015–2019	Succeeded by Craig Christiansen
Party political offices
Preceded by Vincent Insalaco	Chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party 2017–present	Incumbent