Ed Murray (Washington)
Ed Murray (b. May 2, 1955) was the mayor of Seattle, Washington. He was elected in 2013.[1] On September 12, 2017, Murray announced that he would resign from office effective on September 13, 2017, after Murray's cousin Joseph Dyer accused Murray of past sexual abuse.[2]
On May 9, 2017, Murray announced that he would not seek re-election. He told local media that he would focus on defending himself from accusations of sexual abuse that were dismissed in June 2017. Learn more about this case here.[2] Following the lawsuit's dismissal, Murray told local media that he was considering a write-in campaign for mayor.[3] On June 29, 2017, Murray announced that he would not run as a write-in candidate and endorsed former U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan.[4]
Murray was a Democratic Washington state senator, representing District 43. He was first elected to the chamber in 2006. Murray resigned December 31, 2013, in a letter to Governor Jay Inslee.[5] In 2013, Murray served as Minority Leader, which made him the highest-ranking gay elected official in the state; he previously served as Majority Caucus Chair.
Murray served in the Washington House of Representatives from 1995 to 2006.[6]
Biography
Murray earned his B.A. in sociology from the University of Portland. He previously worked as a legislative assistant for Seattle City Council Member Martha Choe.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Murray served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Rules |
| • Ways & Means |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Murray served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Health & Long-Term Care |
| • Ways and Means, Chair |
Elections
2013
Murray announced on December 5, 2012, that he was forming an exploratory committee to run for Seattle mayor in 2013. He did not fully declare his candidacy for the race until December 2012 because he could not raise money or seek endorsements while the Legislature was still in session.[7] Murray defeated incumbent Michael McGinn in the general election on November 5, 2013.
| Mayor of Seattle, 2013 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
 Ed Murray |
52.1% | 106,384 | |
| Mike McGinn Incumbent | 47.9% | 97,935 | |
| Total Votes | 204,319 | ||
| Source: Seattle, Washington, "Historical Election Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | |||
2010
- See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2010
Ed Murray was re-elected to the Washington State Senate District 43 seat. He ran unopposed in both the primary and the November 2, 2010, general election.[8][9]
| Washington State Senate, District 43 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Ed Murray (D)
|
42,365 | 100% | ||
| Washington State Senate, District 43 Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Ed Murray (D)
|
21,993 | 100% | ||
2006
In November 2006, Murray was re-elected for the 43rd District of the Washington State Senate receiving 42,296 votes.
Murray raised $219,643 for his campaign.[10]
| Washington State Senate, District 43 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Ed Murray (D)
|
42,296 | |||
| Loren Nelson (R) | 4,876 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2012.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Washington Community Action Network — Legislators are scored on their votes on 25 bills identified by WCAN to have "the most direct impact on racial equity."
- Washington Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Washington Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WCU's position.
- Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2011.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Washington Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.
Noteworthy events
Sexual abuse claims end re-election bid
Murray ended his 2017 bid for re-election on May 9, 2017, a month after a sexual abuse claim was made by Delvonn Heckard. Heckard's lawsuit claimed that Murray paid him for sexual favors starting in 1986 when Heckard was 15 years old. Maurice Levon Jones filed a declaration to accompany the lawsuit making similar allegations against Murray. Jeff Simpson and Lloyd Anderson made claims of sexual abuse separate from Heckard's lawsuit after the filing. All of the accusations took place between Murray's time as a student in Portland in the late 1970s and his time as a state legislator in the early 1990s.[2] Heckard's lawsuit was dismissed by a voluntary non-suit without prejudice ruling on June 14, 2017.[11] In September 2017, Joseph Dyer accused Murray of multiple incidents of sexual abuse in the mid-1970s, leading Murray to announce his resignation.[2]
Murray's office provided the following response after Heckard's lawsuit was reported by local media:
| “ |
These false accusations are intended to damage a prominent elected official who has been a defender of vulnerable populations for decades. It is not a coincidence that this shakedown effort comes within weeks of the campaign filing deadline. These unsubstantiated assertions, dating back three decades, are categorically false. Mayor Murray has never engaged in an inappropriate relationship with any minor. The two older accusations were promoted by extreme right-wing antigay activists in the midst of the marriage equality campaign, and were thoroughly investigated and dismissed by both law enforcement authorities and the media. Mayor Murray will vigorously fight these allegations in court.[2][12] |
” |
| —Ed Murray (2017) | ||
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google News search for the term "Ed + Murray + Seattle"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
External links
- Office of the Mayor website
- Ed Murray on the Washington State Senate website
- Murray state-sponsored website
- Legislative profile of Murray on Project Vote Smart
- Biographical profile of Murray on Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1996
- Washington Votes profile for Murray
Footnotes
- ↑ City of Seattle, "Office of the Mayor," accessed September 10, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 KOMO, "Mayor Ed Murray resigns after Seattle Times reports new accusations," September 12, 2017 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "resign" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ The Seattle Times, "Ed Murray may campaign as write-in candidate for Seattle mayor, but could it even work?" June 15, 2017
- ↑ Governing, "Seattle Mayor Endorses Someone Else for Job He Wanted," June 30, 2017
- ↑ The Capitol Record, "Sen. Ed Murray will resign from Senate at end of year." November 19, 2013
- ↑ 43rd Legislative District
- ↑ Seattle Times, "Legislature's Ed Murray wants to run for Seattle mayor," December 5, 2012
- ↑ Washington Legislature Official primary results SOS
- ↑ Washington Legislature Official General Election Results
- ↑ Follow the Money's report on Murray's 2006 campaign contributions
- ↑ KIRO, "Murray not ruling out a write-in campaign for re-election after dropped lawsuit," June 15, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michael McGinn |
Mayor of Seattle 2014-2017 |
Succeeded by Bruce Harrell |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Washington Senate District 43 2007-2013 |
Succeeded by NA |
