Edward Bernard Patrick Murray (born May 2, 1955) is an American politician from Washington state who recently served as Seattle's 53rd mayor from 2014 to 2017. A Democrat, he was previously a state legislator in Washington, first with Washington State Representative Council from 1996 to 2007, then Washington State Senate from 2007 to 2013.
In 2017, Murray faces multiple allegations of child abuse and sexual harassment, including from family members and children under his care. The allegations first appeared several years before Murray took the mayor. Murray resigns as mayor of Seattle on September 12, 2017.
Video Ed Murray (Washington politician)
Early life and education
Murray was born in Aberdeen, Washington, to an Irish Catholic family, and was one of seven sisters in his family. He spent most of his childhood in the neighborhood of Alki West Seattle, but attended high school at Timberline High School in Lacey, where he served as chairman of the student organization.
Murray graduated from the University of Portland in 1980; he majored in sociology.
Maps Ed Murray (Washington politician)
Political career
Murray began his career doing pretrial work for public defenders in Portland. He then returned to Seattle, became a paralegal, and quickly became active in local politics there. He was the campaign manager for Cal Anderson, the first open gay legislator in Washington state, in 1988 before becoming City Councilmember assistant Martha Choe. Murray then manages a non-profit that focuses on gay rights.
Initial
In 1995, Murray, a Democrat, ran to fill the country's vacant Senate seat vacant by the death of Anderson, his mentor. Murray was defeated by State Representative Pat Thibaudeau. However, Murray was later appointed to fill the seat of the Thibaudeau State Empire in the 43rd Legislative District. He was re-elected every two years until 2006, when he chose not to run for re-election to the House. The 43rd district, located entirely in Seattle, includes the University districts, Montlake, Eastlake, and Capitol Hill. This district is very progressive and reliable Democrats.
In 2006, he announced his intention to challenge Senator Thibaudeau to the seat of the 43rd District in the State Senate. In May 2006, Thibaudeau quit the race for re-election and Murray was elected to the Senate with little resistance. He took his senate seat in January 2007. In his first session in the senate (2007-08), he was appointed as vice chairman of the majority caucus and in session 2009-10 he served as a caucus seat, a post that was largely responsible for the budget for the Senate and other housekeeping matters. After being re-elected without resistance in 2010, Murray was appointed chairman of various ways & amp; means committees for 2011-12.
Murray had previously served as chairman of the home transportation committee. He is also very active in advancing LGBT rights. He led a push for anti-discrimination laws that banned business from discrimination against gays and lesbians, a measure finally endorsed in 2006 after three decades of debate. He is also the main sponsor of the law that created a domestic partnership, approved in 2007.
In 2009, Murray was the main sponsor of the $ 2.4 billion Bill of Washington Senate funding that authorized the construction of a deep tunnel under Seattle to replace the Alaska Viaduct Road. Murray has consistently supported the project, although there are well-documented concerns about project feasibility and financing charges, including the language that places responsibility for paying cost swelling with taxpayers in the Seattle area. Bertha, a deep tunnel drilling machine, was damaged in December 2013 and has not moved for more than a year, causing costly delays and significant challenges such as unstable soil conditions under the historic Pioneer Square in Seattle and the Viaduct itself. In an article that examines the roles of elected officials and supporters who play to drive deep drill tunnels despite the existence of a number of engineering and financing issues, The Stranger writes that "no one is more responsible for deep tunnels than Ed Murray." By mid-2018, the cost swelling in the tunnel project exceeds $ 600 million.
Career mayor
Murray was elected Mayor of Seattle in the 2013 election. He ran for re-election in 2017, but ended his campaign May 9 following allegations of child sexual abuse. On September 12, 2017, amid more sexual harassment claims, Murray announced his effective resignation the following day.
Personal life
Murray is of Irish descent. Murray is gay, and out in 1980. In 2013, he married Michael Shiosaki in St. Louis. Mark's in Seattle; both have had a relationship for 22 years. Murray did not emphasize his sexual orientation during his career, describing himself as "a gay-incident Democrat." During his campaign to the Senate, as in many previous campaigns, he won support from Gay & amp; Lesbian Victory Fund.
Allegations of child sexual abuse
Until September 2017, five people accused Murray of sexual harassment. In April 2017, a lawsuit was filed against Murray by Delvonn Heckard who claimed that Murray "raped and abused him" when he was a teenager in 1986. The lawsuit accused Murray of paying his teenagers $ 10 or $ 20 in exchange for sexual contact. Heckard said he dropped out of school and was addicted to cocaine. Jeff Simpson and Lloyd Anderson made similar allegations against Murray in 2007. In addition, in 1984, Simpson accused Murray of sexual assault when he was a teenager. He talked to a social worker and detective at the time; However, no fees were submitted.
Murray Mayor Jeff May's personal spokesman, Jeff Reading, said in a statement that the allegations were false and politically motivated, and that Murray would fight them. Later, Murray's lawyer stated that Murray had undergone a medical examination denying the claim that Murray had what he described as "an unusual lump" on his genitals, and that the lawsuit had to be imposed.
On July 16, 2017, The Seattle Times revealed that in 1984, an Oregon child welfare investigator determined that Murray had sexually harassed his adopted son.
On September 12, 2017, Murray's cousin accused him of sexual harassment as a minor. Later in the day, Mayor Murray announced his resignation, effective September 13.
After his resignation, Amnesty International called on the Northern Ireland Police Service to open an investigation into Murray's 1974 journey to Belfast and Wales, involving 30 Catholic and Protestant children.
References
External links
- Senate homepage
- Appearance in C-SPAN
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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