Prior to entering the Victorian Parliament, Somyurek worked as a taxi driver, as a staffer for Labor Senator Jacinta Collins in 1996 and later in the office of federal MP Anthony Byrne.

[6] After the reforms that introduced proportional representation into the Legislative Council, Somyurek won a safe spot on the Labor ticket for the South Eastern Metropolitan Region and was easily re-elected at the 2006 election.

In his second term (2006–2010) Somyurek was elected the first chair of the newly constituted Electoral Matters Committee but lost the position in December 2009 as a result of being convicted for driving while disqualified.

[10] Somyurek stood down from his ministerial role in May 2015 following allegations from his chief of staff, Dimity Paul, of bullying, and later resigned on 28 July 2015 after an investigation by the Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet made adverse findings against him.

[17] On 14 June 2020, The Age and Nine Network published covert recordings purporting to show Somyurek organising branch stacking.

[18] Included in the numerous covert recordings, are several sections where Somyurek is heard making derogatory comments towards MPs Gabrielle Williams and ministerial staffers.

[20] Somyurek was a target of Operation Watts, an investigation by Victoria's Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and the Victorian Ombudsman.

[23] The report recommended making it "unlawful for ministers to allow a person to perform party political work while employed in a publicly funded role," which was not the case at the time of the allegations made against Somyurek.