Seattle Mayor Resigns after 5th Sex Abuse Claim

From the Federalist -- Seattle's first openly gay mayor, Ed Murray, has resigned amid allegations from five men that Murray had sexually abused them as teenagers.

Four of these allegations came to light this spring. While Murray denied there was any truth to the accusations, he decided not to run for a second term. He contended the allegations were an effort to target him for his “record as a gay-rights champion,” according to the Seattle Times. But apparently the burden of this fifth allegation proved too heavy to carry as mayor.

Murray, 62, has been the mayor of Seattle since 2013, also the year he married Michael Shiosaki, shortly after gay marriage was legalized in Washington state. Murray maintains his innocence but said, “It is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our city government to conduct the public’s business.”

This latest addition to the sexual abuse scandal comes from his cousin, Joseph Dyer, 54. The Seattle Times reports that Dyer was just 13 when Murray came to stay with Dyer’s family in New York in the mid-1970s. Dyer alleges Murray, then in his early 20s, repeatedly “forced him into sex when the two shared a bedroom” for the duration of a year. Dyer told the Seattle Times, “There would be times when I would fake sleeping because I didn’t want him touching me.”

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