XPost: hawaii.education, monterey.general, sbay.general   
   XPost: alt.politics.obama   
   From: pervert.picayune@barackobama.com   
      
   Saying that rape allegations against him fed into the “worst   
   possible” stereotypes of gay men, a somber Seattle Mayor Ed   
   Murray announced Tuesday that he would not seek another term in   
   office.   
      
   “It tears me to pieces to have to step away,” said Murray, who   
   had been considered a near-cinch for a second term running one   
   of America’s most liberal cities, “but I believe it is in the   
   best interest of this city that I love.”   
      
   Faced with a lawsuit and the allegations of four accusers who   
   claimed Murray, 62, either paid for sex or raped them in the   
   1980s, the mayor, with husband Michael Shiosaki at his side,   
   said that standing for reelection — despite his commanding lead   
   and $200,000 war chest — would turn the campaign into more of a   
   spectacle than it already is.   
      
   “Any campaign for mayor must be about the future of the city….   
   It must be focused on these issues, not on a scandal, which it   
   would be focused on if I were to remain in the race,” he said.   
      
   The scandal, he added, “hurts those who have been victims of   
   abuse. It hurts my family. It hurts Michael. For these reasons,   
   I am announcing that I am withdrawing as a candidate for mayor.”   
      
   Typical election issues had already been drowned out by the   
   scandal. It unearthed both serious and bizarre accusations after   
   a civil lawsuit was filed last month by Delvonn Heckard, 46, a   
   Seattle-area man who claimed Murray sexually abused him as a   
   teenager. Three other men have come forth with similar claims   
   but are not part of the lawsuit.   
      
   To help substantiate his accusations, for example, Heckard told   
   reporters he remembered that the mayor had a mole in a specific   
   location on his genitals. To disprove that, the mayor announced   
   that he was examined by a doctor who could find no such mole.   
      
   Back-and-forths such as that — along with exaggerated claims by   
   Heckard’s attorney that led to a $5,000 ethics violation fine   
   against him, and Murray’s suggestion that because his accusers   
   had criminal records they weren’t to be believed — led the   
   Seattle Times and a Seattle alt-weekly, the Stranger, to urge   
   Murray to finish his term and leave office.   
      
   A former state legislator instrumental in pushing for passage of   
   gay rights laws, Murray said his accusers’ claims “paint me in   
   the worst possible historical portraits of a gay man…. The   
   allegations against me are not true and I say this with all   
   honesty and the deepest sincerity.”   
      
   Still, “I must admit that my heart aches. Since I was 12 years   
   old, politics was my dream … and I have the best job in   
   politics, the mayor of the city of Seattle.   
      
   “This lifelong love, this political career, this career that has   
   been my life, will come to an end Dec. 31,” he said as his voice   
   cracked. He will walk away from a political career that began   
   with his election as a high school student body president.   
      
   As Seattle's progressive mayor, he backed a new $15 minimum wage   
   law, was supported by both property developers and advocates for   
   the homeless, and pushed tax increases to pay for transit, parks   
   and affordable housing. More recently, he proposed a 1.75-cents-   
   per-ounce tax on sugary drinks to help fund educational programs.   
      
   He spoke Tuesday with what seemed a sense of both accomplishment   
   and relief before finally thanking his husband and supporters,   
   some of whom were teary-eyed.   
      
   Nearly a dozen mayoral candidates have announced their plans to   
   become the city’s 54th mayor, including the man whom Murray beat   
   in 2013, then-incumbent Mayor Mike McGinn.   
      
   Nikkita Oliver, an educator and activist, and Cary Moon, an   
   urban planner, are among the better-known candidates.   
      
   Seattle attorney Jenny Durkan, considered the first openly gay   
   U.S. attorney when appointed by President Obama in 2009 and   
   serving until 2014, is expected to file this week now that   
   Murray has exited the race.   
      
   http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-seattle-mayor-20170509-   
   story.html   
            
      
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