About LaVert Murray
Born, raised, and educated in Kansas City, Kansas, Murray has worked in government administration as an economic and community development professional for the past 40 plus years. He retired from his position as Director of Development for the Unified Government where he managed a number of Major inititiatives and projects that contributed to the healthy and positive growth of Wyandotte County. He returned to the Unified Government nearly four years ago as the Chief Economic Development Advisor under the current mayor’s administration and recently retired to seek the commission post.
Murray is uniquely suited to provide leadership to the 5th Commission District given his knowledge base and experience. No other candidate has as extensive a background with a proven track record of success.
Projects Murray Was Involved In:
• Planning for the Legends and Village West Development which is now the number one tourist attraction in the state of Kansas
• Directly responsible for assembling the initial 400 acres required for the Kansas Speedway, Village West, and Nebraska Furniture Mart developments
• Working with the State and Federal Department of Transportation officials under Mayor Jack Reardon to manage the alignment pathway for the I-435 Highway that is vital to District 5
• Negotiations in Detroit for the new General Motors Plant in Fairfax
• Advising and guiding the Unified Government to adopt incentive limits that restrict incentives for large development projects to 50% instead of the 85% to 90% incentive that was part of past practice in order to protect the tax base and our tax payers in alignment with his fiscally responsible goals
Educational Background
LaVert Murray is a 1971 graduate of the University of Kansas (KU) with a B.A. degree in Political Science and Economics and a 1969 graduate of the KCK Community College with an Associates of Arts Degree in Pre-Law. He is a certified Economic Development Professional (EDP) and a certified Business Finance Specialist. His post graduate program at KU was in the area of Urban Structure and Process. Through this graduate studies program Murray mastered a number of graduate level courses in government and municipal finance which would make him a tremendous asset on the Unified Government Commission for critical budget analysis designed to bring about greater efficiencies and optimizations for our tax dollars.
Community Involvement
• Murray retired as the General Coordinator for the Kansas City, Kansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Celebration and as Chairman of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Scholarship Awards Committee after serving in that capacity for more than 40 years.
• Under the Baptist Ministers Union, Murray started the scholarship program for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Scholarship which has awarded more than a million dollars to Wyandotte County high school graduates.
• Murray has served as a member of the Donnelly College Board of Trustees and assisted in the certification process that resulted in Donnelly’s certification as a four year college institution.
• Murray assisted in the opening of the new Breidenthal Boys and Girls Club Community Center as a member of the board.
• In the past, Murray has served on the boards for the Cancer Action, Inc., Boys Scouts of Mid America, the Private Industry Council, Economic Opportunity Foundation, the American Red Cross, Overcoming Obstacles Education Services, School Linked Services, and the task group member for the Children’s Campus Project.
• Murray was elected to the Kansas City Kansas Community College Board of Trustees.
• One of the first to be honored by the Kansas/Missouri chapter of the NFBPA for his “Marks of Excellence” and longstanding commitment to public service and quality of life improvements in the Kansas City area
• Recipient of the 2009 H.W. Sewing Humanitarian Award by the Friends of Yates
• Awarded the 2010 President’s Call To Service Award as recognized by President Barack Obama’s Council on Service and Civic Participation
• Honored for his distinguished work in the preservation and stabilization of the Quindaro Ruins and the Quindaro Underground Railroads, as well was responsible for the design and construction of the Quindaro Ruins Overlook
• Selected as one of the 100 most influential people in the Kansas City Metropolitan area by the Kansas City Globe in 2010
• Selected as the “2002-2003 Man of the Year” by the Kansas/Nebraska Conference of the AME Church
• Recipient of the Rebecca Vincson Community Service Award and the Friends of Yates Lucile V. Jackson Community Service Award
• Honored as the recipient of the Friends of Yates Outstanding Man of Distinction Award
• Recognized by the Metropolitan Baptist Church as one of the five “Outstanding Community Leaders” in 2002