UPDATE 2:15 PM: With longtime partner Michael Shiosaki at his side inside 10th Ave’s Sole Repair, state senator Ed Murray announced Wednesday afternoon he has formed an exploratory committee to assess his chances in the November 2013 race to become Seattle mayor.
The Capitol Hill resident said the committee will evaluate whether a successful campaign to become the city’s first gay mayor is even possible as Murray finishes his session in Olympia as the senate majority leader. Campaign finance laws will prohibit the Murray camp from fundraising until well into the campaign that has already drawn challengers to incumbent Mike McGinn.
(Images: CHS)
Saying his interest in running for mayor is “not to oppose any one person” and helping people choose “what kind of future they want” for Seattle, the 57-year-old Murray said many specifics of his campaign will be on hold until a decision about mounting a campaign with “unique challenges.”
If he runs, Murray will be riding a wave of recent success as a leader of the R74 push for marriage equality.
Murray began serving Capitol Hill’s 43rd District in 1995 as a member of the House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate in 2006.
In 2009, McGinn launched his campaign with an event at E Madison’s Piecora’s.
Original Report: Will he run? Our neighborhood’s state senator will end the speculation Wednesday afternoon with a Pike/Pine media conference. Ed Murray, 57, already a leading LGBT voice in the state, is riding a wave of recent political success including the victory on R-74. The 10th Ave E resident’s announcement will come as county officials prepare for a special midnight session of marriage licensing in the first hours that same-sex marriage will be legal in the state. City Council member Tim Burgess has already announced his intention to take on incumbent Mike McGinn next November.
Here is the announcement from the Murray camp:
State Senate Majority Leader Ed Murray to Make a Major Announcement about His Intentions Regarding Upcoming Seattle Mayoral Race at Press Event Today
State Senator Ed Murray, long considered one of the leading potential candidates for Seattle mayor in 2013, will make a major announcement about whether or not he intends to enter the mayoral race at a press event in the heart of his legislative district on Capitol Hill this afternoon.
The Seattle Times recently wrote that “voter approval of same-sex marriage in Washington State has given Murray national stature as a civil rights champion” and added that Murray is “the most experienced politician to consider the Seattle mayor’s race.” Murray, who was recently elected leader of the Senate Democratic caucus, will be joined by dozens of friends and supporters at the event.
