Democrat Seattle Mayor Ed Murray To Resign After Cousin Accuses Him of Sexual Abuse

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray will resign effective at 5 pm Wednesday following allegations the Democrat lawmaker sexually abused his cousin Joseph Dyer. According to Seattle PI, “Murray announced plans to resign Wednesday hours after the allegations surfaced on Tuesday.”

Seattle PI reports:

A younger cousin of Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has become the fifth man to accuse the longtime politician of sexual abuse.

[…]

“I am announcing my resignation as mayor, effective at 5 p.m. tomorrow,” 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.”

“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.

Joseph Dyer, 54, said he was 13 years old when Murray sexually assaulted him for a year while they shared a bedroom in Dyer’s mother’s home on Long Island, New York in the 1970s.

As TGP previously reported in July, child protective services accused Seattle Democrat Mayor Ed Murray of sexually abusing his foster son in a 1984 investigation. Child Protective Services also asserted “under no circumstances should Mr. Murray be certified” as a foster parent in the future.”

Seattle Times reported:

An Oregon child-welfare investigator concluded that Ed Murray sexually abused his foster son in the early 1980s, leading state officials to assert that “under no circumstances should Mr. Murray be certified” as a foster parent in the future, according to public records obtained by The Seattle Times.

The investigation by Oregon Child Protective Services (CPS) of Jeff Simpson’s allegations determined them to be valid — meaning the agency believed Murray sexually abused Simpson, the records show.

“In the professional judgement of this caseworker who has interviewed numerous children of all ages and of all levels of emotional disturbance regarding sexual abuse, Jeff Simpson has been sexually abused by … Edward Murray,” CPS caseworker Judy Butler wrote in the May 1984 assessment.

 

Thanks for sharing!