Features Dec 5, 2012 at 4:00 am

The Man Behind Marriage Equality Sets His Sights on City Hall

Ed Murray, 57, and his partner of more than 20 years, Michael Shiosaki, celebrate marriage equality on election night. Kelly O

Comments

1
Ed's spent a shitload of City Hall time, especially early on. That was his path until Cal passed away.

When I met him he was on the City of Seattle Commission for Lesbians and Gays, then he was leg. assistant to then-Council Member Martha Choe (now CAO at the Gates Foundation).
2
Definite mixed emotions. I think Ed would be a wonderful mayor, but he does such good and important work in Olympia. I worry about filling that void should he win.
3
There goes Burgess' play for the Slog with his "exclusive" announcement interview. No doubt The Stranger will pitch over for Murray in a nanosecond.

But Murray has done a crap job on the leadership needed for funding state public education. He doesn't deserve a job here unless he straightens out the constitutional crisis there. As he admits, marriage equality isn't a reason to make him mayor.
4
Now we know who the Stranger will endorse.
5
However, Murray stops short of supporting an accelerated light rail construction schedule funded by Seattle.

I'd like to hear from the different eventual mayoral candidates what Seattle projects they want to see as part of Sound Transit 3, regardless of its timing. I just don't see any project that fits the subarea equity requirement and actually fills a real need like a westside light rail line from Ballard to downtown and going on possibly to West Seattle and White Center. It would be nice to see a candidate be unequivocal in their support of such a long-term vision.

Murray is right about "real bus rapid transit," but to the extent that he uses support for that as an excuse to be weak-kneed on light rail in the long run, I'm skeptical of the guy. And he has a history of being dodgy in his support for transit. Look up Ed Murray and John Stanton for some background.
6
re Murray's support for education: actually, he voted to zero-out the state's budget for tourism promotion because (for him) he couldn't fund tourism vs "teacher jobs, teacher salaries." Even so, I was hopeful that he'd bring enlightenment to Olympia. Agree with @2...
7
"I would ask for the resignation of all the department heads."

There ya go. Ed's got my vote.
8
I'll vote for a Catholic if I HAVE to, I guess.
9
Capitol Hill is an echo chamber. If Murray ventures into other parts of the city, he'll get this: Meh.

He's better than Burgess, but he'd be best in Olympia.

Next please.
10
So I guess we now know why you went so batshit crazy about Albert Shen's op-ed yesterday.
11
When was the last time Murray had to campaign competitively? I wouldn't be surprised to see him lose in the primary. He's better than Burgess, but that says nothing.

The only major blemish on McGinn's record as mayor is his handling of SPD, which has been a corrupt organization for decades and won't be fixed overnight.

McGinn deserves four more years.
12
Not sure where Seattle will find a Mayor who can get things done in Seattle ... but until we do, I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a Mayor who can get things done in Olympia.
13
@11, Ed was campaigning competitively about 30 days ago. There was this thing called Ref 74?
14
Awesome.
I'm happy to hear this.
He's smart. Savvy. He gets things done.
It's what Seattle has needed for a long time.
15
I really worry about losing his effectiveness in the state Senate. And I'm not convinced that his real talent in that body will translate to effectiveness as Mayor.

On the other hand, for him personally I see why this is a good move. He's won his top long-term legislative priority, the Senate is going to be a mess to manage with the balance of power held by conservative Democrats, and if he wants executive experience or any other higher office, this is his only step in that direction.

I wish him well. If I still lived in the city I'd probably vote for him. If he wasn't running, I'd vote for McGinn.
16


"The Stranger will pitch over for Murray in a nanosecond."

Pitch over, bend-over, reach-around…you name it. It's called 'journalism' afterall.
17
Not happy about him leaving Olympia especially at this point.

And the problem with him being Mayor? I am oddly not that excited about him being mayor. He'd be better than the last three we have had...I think.

But shit, years ago people were thinking Nickels would be outstanding (compared to Mark Sidran...THERE'S a name we haven't said on Slog in a while huh?) and the same with McGinn.

I think Murray would be another person who in two years we will hate as being ineffectual in City Hall
18
@13: Campaigning for a single issue is totally different than campaigning for an elected position, where being well-versed on a myriad of issues is necessary (ask Joe Mallahan).
19
The first candidate to state they are all in for a subway for Seattle, I will vote for in a heartbeat!
20
@11: The only major blemish on McGinn's record as mayor is his handling of SPD

There was also his campaign lie about not obstructing the tunnel, followed by his attempts to obstruct the tunnel using the lame passive aggressive tactic of not signing procedural documents, followed by his histrionic and completely misinformed shrieks of "Constitutional Crisis!!" when Conlin signed in proxy.

And let's not forget his unprecedented ability to alienate every other leader in the region besides the police chief, and his inability to work with those who's viewpoints don't precisely overlap with his own.
21
@18: Campaigning for a single issue is totally different than campaigning for an elected position

Did McGinn campaign on anything other than the tunnel.

To be fair, my wife called in a pothole in our alley on Sunday, and the city had it patched up 3 hours later. On a Sunday. In any alley. I still can't believe it.
22
Isn't Seattle already fully homosexualized?
23
That's terrible. We need him in Olympia. He and Chopp are the leaders against the Republican starve-government hordes. I don't know who would take his place.
24
@21: Yes, but you wouldn't think so if all you paid attention to was local TV "news" and the Seattle Times. Did you watch the mayoral debates?

Frankly if you think that McGinn ran only as the "anti-tunnel candidate", then shouldn't his victory have been viewed as referendum on the tunnel? Clearly it was not.
25
The fact that the balance of power would be held by conservative Dems in the Senate is because Murray gave them that power. I was wondering why he did that but I figured he thought they'd be easier to deal with if they were inside the tent rather than outside. Now I wonder even more, since he doesn't intend to be in the tent leading them.
26
Another qualified candidate enters the race. This should be interesting. Oh, and who the hell cares if he is gay. I care about a candidate's sexual preference just about as much as I do an artist's. Just do your job and I'll be happy. Who you screw (or want to screw) on your own time is not my concern.

Back to the nitty-gritty: part of a mayors job is to interact with the various other (bigger) agencies (the county, state and U. S. government). I don't think McGinn has done so well. Murray could do really well with the state (although who knows?) but I would think that Ron Sims (if he enters the race) could build bridges much better than just about anyone.
27
Yeah, I'm on board with Sims if he jumps in.
28
Ross you dolt Sims was a pleasant face on a crap job performace. Constantine has spent his whole time in office actually making the trains run on time again.

Sims is a nice fellow but would be a disaster at the helm here in Seattle.
29
So I guess we should ask Ed if he intends to be the "gay mayor" like McGinn is the "bike mayor" and if Ed will support further SoDo arena development (there's still a lot of votes, that whole issue with securing a team, and the likelihood of the nitty-gritty being revised from what is understood in the MOU now to something even more favorable to Hansen). If Hansen and Ballmer can't secure a team under the current MOU's terms and it's running close to the 5 year deadline... will Murry tell them to take a hike or renegotiate things ?
30
@24: He won because a) his opponent was Joe Mallahn, and b) because he promised at the last minute that he wouldn't obstruct the tunnel.

With Burgess and Murray in the race, McGinn won't even get 10% of the primary votes.
31
I'm really surprised. I didn't think he'd be interested in the job of Seattle Mayor after so long in the state legislature.

That said, he immediately becomes my favorite candidate. Waaaayyyy better than Tim Burgess. And Ed would play much better with other regional and state officials than McGinn ever did.
32
Seems like he did quite a bit, but the FLASHY headline threw me off. The Stranger did him no justice on it. Even as I read on and realized he did some great things at State, I just could not turn off now knowing his sexual preference. Stranger you should know better, the residents of Seattle do not care what his or anyone elses sexual preference is. It is rather annoying that you feel it is important to mention his or anyones preference as a milestone.
33
He (likely mayoral candidate Ed Murray) envisions...streetcars

STREETCARS!?! They were great until we ripped out the tracks to make space for SOVs. Center-lane street-level electric streetcars no longer make volume ridership sense and no longer make budgetary sense. Sure they're cute and retro cool, but street pavement is too scarce, and street cars are not flexible nor versatile enough for Seattle streets.
34
Kshama Sawant,of the Socialist Alternative Party,got thirty percent of the vote for Forty-Third Legislative District;with the voting system Seattle has for the mayer's seat,she would win because all the bourgeois candidates would divide the remaining votes amongst themselves!(Plurality voting,anybody?----- http://www.votesawant.org
35
Kshama Sawant,of the Socialist Alternative Party,got thirty percent of the vote for Forty-Third Legislative District;with the voting system Seattle has for the mayer's seat,she would win because all the bourgeois candidates would divide the remaining votes amongst themselves!(Plurality voting,anybody?----- http://votesawant.org
36
I like Ed Murray but he's going to have to liven it up a bit. He was interviewed on KIRO this morning and...snore....what a lackluster, no-energy performance. Whew. Bad.
37
Go, Ed, go!!
38
Where, oh where, is Mark Sidran when we NEED him?
39
Mike McGinn is a good mayor. If he ran for Tacoma City Council (which votes for the mayor in T-town), I would vote for him, and then help campaign to the other city council members to elevate him to Mayor of Tacoma.

the Seattle City Council has not cooperated with McGinn for reasons that mystify me. He's a friend of Labor, the environment, the GLBT community, he supported 50, 74 and 71. He was right about the tunnel, and how the funds wasted on a deep-bore environmental disaster would be better spent on public transit. He's correct about bicycle lanes, too.

It would be nice to have Ed Murray as the mayor of Seattle. I say this because Ed is just as competent and correct on all the issues as McGinn is. I also acknowledge that having an openly gay mayor of a city the size of Seattle would be a great stride forward for the GLBT community, both on a national and state-wide basis. It would also set Ed up nicely for a gubernatorial run, which would be even better for the GLBT community. It would give Ed executive experience at the state's largest city, a nice thing to have in the campaign blurb in the voters pamphlet next to his picture.

Mike McGinn's only problem is that the city council hates him. this is manifestly unfair, and if you don't want him up there, send him to Tacoma. There's an opening on the city council now that Jake Fey has been elected to the state legislature. he can serve there until Mayor Strickland steps down and then we'll make him the Destiny City's next mayor.
40
Mike McGinn is a good mayor. If he ran for Tacoma City Council (which votes for the mayor in T-town), I would vote for him, and then help campaign to the other city council members to elevate him to Mayor of Tacoma.

the Seattle City Council has not cooperated with McGinn for reasons that mystify me. He's a friend of Labor, the environment, the GLBT community, he supported 502, 74 and 71. He was right about the tunnel, and how the funds wasted on a deep-bore environmental disaster would be better spent on public transit. He's correct about bicycle lanes, too.

It would be nice to have Ed Murray as the mayor of Seattle. I say this because Ed is just as competent and correct on all the issues as McGinn is. I also acknowledge that having an openly gay mayor of a city the size of Seattle would be a great stride forward for the GLBT community, both on a national and state-wide basis. It would also set Ed up nicely for a gubernatorial run, which would be even better for the GLBT community. It would give Ed executive experience at the state's largest city, a nice thing to have in the campaign blurb in the voters pamphlet next to his picture.

Mike McGinn's only problem is that the city council hates him. This is manifestly unfair, and if you don't want him up there, send him to Tacoma. There's an opening on the city council now that Jake Fey has been elected to the state legislature. he can serve there until Mayor Strickland steps down and then we'll make him the Destiny City's next mayor.
41
Will the Stranger Election Control Board endorse the Socialist Alternative Party's City-Council and Mayeral candidates like they did Kshama Sawant for the Forty-third Legislative District?----- http://votesawant.org

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