Ed Murray Staff Records, 1997-2017

Ed Murray served as mayor of Seattle from 2014 to 2017. He was born in 1955 in Aberdeen, Washington, and grew up in West Seattle and Lacey. After graduating from the University of Portland, he began working in the legal field in Portland and Seattle. He transitioned into involvement in local politics, managing the winning campaign for Washington State House candidate Cal Anderson. Murray also worked in city government as a legislative aide to Seattle City Councilmember Martha Choe. When Cal Anderson passed away in 1995, Murray campaigned to fill his seat representing the 43rd district in the state Senate. He did not win the election, but was appointed to fill the House seat for the 43rd, which was vacated by the candidate who won the Senate seat. He continued serving in the House through 2006, when he won the 43rd district Senate seat. He remained in the state Senate until taking office in 2014 as the city's 53rd mayor. Murray was Seattle's first openly gay mayor. Major issues and projects during his term included the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project, reform of the Police Department, affordable housing, changes in land use and zoning, and homelessness. Murray resigned from office on September 13, 2017.