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Los Angeles County, CA June 3, 2014 Election
Smart Voter Full Biography for Pat Furey

Candidate for
Mayor; City of Torrance

[photo]
This information is provided by the candidate

Pat Furey was elected to the Torrance City Council in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. He currently serves as Chair of the Community Planning and Design Committee and is a member of the Employee Relations and Public Safety Committee, the Finance and Government Operations Committee, the Armed Forces Day Committee, and the 2010 Ad Hoc Federal Legislative Advocacy Committee. In addition, he is the immediate Past President and a voting delegate to the West Vector Control District of LA County and as the alternate voting delegate to the Sister City Association. He is also the appointed City of Torrance representative to the Palos Verdes Landfill Citizen Advisory Committee where he serves as Vice-Chair.

Pat earned an associate in arts degree in Journalism at El Camino College in 1984. While attending, he served as a staff writer for the student newspaper under the direction of long-time El Camino journalism Professor Bill Kamrath. He later worked as a staff writer for the Gardena Valley News and as a stringer for some national publications. Pat was recently honored with the 2011 El Camino College Distinguished Alumni Award.

In 1986, Pat graduated with honors from the UCLA Attorney Assistant Training Program and was employed as a legal assistant for nine years. His education culminated with the juris doctor degree that was conferred on him in 1995 by the University of West Los Angeles. He recently retired after two decades of service to the County of Los Angeles as a Principal Deputy County Counsel assigned to the Children's Services Division. Pat spent more than 10 years as a supervising attorney at the Edelman Children's Court in Monterey Park. He finished his service as a training and advice counsel to the Department of Children and Family Services in Torrance, a position he previously held for more than 3 years.

Pat served four terms as president of the Torrance Education Foundation. He and wife Terry are long-time board members, and have been intimately involved in fundraising efforts that directly benefit the children who attend Torrance public schools. In 2007, Pat and Terry were the recipients of the James R. Armstrong Community Leadership Award in recognition of their contributions to Torrance schools and the community. In addition, they are both past recipients of the Honorary Service Award presented by the Parent Teachers Association for their service to our schools.

Prior to being elected to the Torrance City Council, Pat served as a member of the Torrance Unified School District Personnel Commission. He was appointed in 2006 as the labor union appointee on this three-member panel that protects the interests of classified employees of the Torrance Unified School District. In addition, he also served the school district as a member of the 7-11 Committee, which is charged with reviewing potential surplus property of the district.

Pat was also the President of the North Torrance Homeowners Association for more than eight years. As president, he advocated for residents of North Torrance in matters before the Torrance City Council, Torrance Planning Commission, Torrance Parks & Recreation Commission, and Torrance Traffic Commission. In addition, on a number of occasions Pat served as a spokesperson for the coalition of Torrance homeowners associations concerning major issues that affect the entire city.

In addition, Pat served two terms as a Torrance Civil Service Commissioner, including one year as the chair of the commission. He also served on Mayor Frank Scotto's Blue Ribbon Committee on Ethics and Integrity.

In his spare time, Pat has been a dedicated volunteer to Little League Baseball, District 27, for over 25 years. In this volunteer position, he has officiated as an umpire in more than 1,000 games at Little League facilities throughout the Southern California area + including all of the leagues located in Torrance.

Pat also served for more than 10 years as a volunteer Boy Scout Leader. He was a Den Leader and Committee Chair for Cub Scout Pack 948. He also served as a Troop Committee Member for Boy Scout Troops 242 and 592, and was a merit badge counselor for the South Bay District of BSA for Law, Journalism and Fingerprinting.

He was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After high school, Pat fulfilled his military obligation as an infantry soldier in the United States Army. And he served five years as a police officer in Philadelphia, before moving to Southern California in 1973.

Pat and Terry are the proud parents of two grown children and grandparents of two young men + all of whom attended or attend Torrance public schools and live in the city to this day.

- Occupation: Retired Child Abuse Prosecutor, Los Angeles County
- Torrance City Councilmember, elected in 2008, re-elected in 2012
- 2011 El Camino College Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
- 2007 James R. Armstrong Community Leadership Award Recipient
- 2006 Torrance Council of PTA's Honorary Service Award Recipient
- Chair, Community Planning and Design Committee
- Member, Armed Forces Day Committee
- Member, Employee Relations and Government Safety Committee
- Member, Finance and Government Operations Committee
- Former member, Citizen Development and Enrichment Committee
- Former member, Strategic Plan Committee
- Member, 2010-2011 Ad Hoc Federal Legislative Advocacy Committee
- Immediate Past-President and Voting Delegate, West Vector Control District of Los Angeles County
- Alternate Voting Delegate, Sister City Association
- Board Member + Torrance Education Foundation (10+ years) + Former President (4 terms)
- Former President + North Torrance Homeowners Association (8 years)
- Former Chair, TUSD Personnel Commission
- Former member, Torrance Blue Ribbon Committee on Ethics & Integrity
- Former Torrance Civil Service Commissioner (2 terms)
- Little League Volunteer Umpire + 25+ years
- Cub Scout Volunteer + Pack 948
- Boy Scout Volunteer + Troops 592 & 242
- Former Police Officer
- US Army Veteran

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: May 11, 2014 10:00
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