Embattled Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced he will resign Wednesday after a new child sex abuse allegation dating back decades, this one made by a cousin in New York, surfaced in the headlines of the Seattle Times.
The cousin, Joseph Dyer, reportedly came forward because of the way Murray had treated four other accusers, according to the Seattle P-I.com. Dyer reportedly was 13 years old at the time, in the 1970s.
Murray, an openly-gay former state legislator who was elected mayor in 2013, steadfastly denies the allegations. According to KING, the local NBC affiliate, Murray said in a statement, “While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our City government to conduct the public’s business.” The resignation is effective Wednesday at 5 p.m.
The veteran liberal politician allegedly was involved with youngsters in Oregon many years ago. A lawsuit was filed against Murray earlier this year but then withdrawn. Murray decided not to run for re-election, but had vowed to remain in office and finish out his term.
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In his statement, Murray said, “I’m proud of all that I have accomplished over my 19 years in the Legislature, where I was able to pass what were at the time the largest transportation packages in state history, a landmark gay civil rights bill and a historic marriage equality bill.”
But during his time in the Legislature, Murray also sponsored or supported gun control legislation, including one bill to ban so-called “assault weapons” that would have allowed warrantless annual searches of gun owners’ homes by sheriff’s deputies. Revelation of this tenet of the bill killed it.
Under Murray’s liberal leadership, the city adopted a $15 minimum wage, plus police accountability legislation. A controversial report from the University of Washington, however, criticized the minimum wage, revealing that it actually cost jobs. Murray’s administration scrambled to discredit the report, which was covered extensively by the Seattle Times.
But the Washington Post and New York Times also reported on the study, which took the controversy nationwide.
Murray also signed the controversial “gun violence tax” ordinance in 2015, leading to a lawsuit by the National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation and National Shooting Sports Foundation. The gun tax was upheld by the State Supreme Court, but Seattle lost a related case for not releasing tax revenue data under a Public Records Act request filed by TheGunMag.com, a SAF-owned publication.
Seattle’s increasingly far left political tilt has caused the city to become something of laughingstock in Washington and beyond its borders.
Murray’s political career in Seattle began three decades ago, according to Wikipedia. He was first appointed to the Legislature in 1995 in a case of political chairs. He had run to replace the late State Sen. Cal Anderson, who was also gay and described by Wikipedia as Murray’s “mentor.” Murray had served as Anderson’s campaign manager in 1988. Murray lost the election to State Rep. Pat Thibaudeau, but was subsequently appointed to fill the seat Thibaudeau vacated.
Murray was elected to the State Senate in 2006, when Thibaudeau withdrew from the race, Wikipedia reports.
The Seattle Times has doggedly pursued the story detailing the allegations against Murray for several months. Throughout that time, Murray has adamantly maintained his innocence and stayed on the job. Until this latest allegation surfaced, it appeared that Murray would finish his term.
The November election will pit former federal prosecutor Jenny Durkan against activist Cary Moon, both liberals. The Seattle P-I.com noted that Moon had called for Murray’s resignation “four months ago” and that Durkan had called for that resignation Tuesday.
KIRO radio commentator Dori Monson called the Murray story “a scathing indictment” of the political left in Seattle.
