Seattle mayor | The Seattle Times

Ed Murray

State senator, 58, Capitol Hill

Overview
Issues

The candidate

Ed Murray
A long-time state Senator who sponsored the legislation that legalized gay marriage in Washington. He was Senate Democratic Leader this year, but a GOP coup cost him the majority leader post.

Mike McGinn
A lawyer and Sierra Club activist who doesn’t shy away from a fight. He’s both incumbent and underdog, and he’s running like an outsider.
Supporters

Ed Murray
Downtown business; more mainstream, but still liberal, labor groups, such as the construction trades and waterfront unions; and Seattle’s traditional power structure, including most of the city’s nine City Council members.

Mike McGinn
The Sierra Club, local branches of the most liberal and activist unions, such as UNITE HERE, UFCW and some of the SEIU locals. Real Change, refugee groups in Southeast Seattle, Sonics fans, Cascade Bicycle Club.
Opponents

Ed Murray
Some labor, like the local branches of UFCW and UNITE HERE. The Stranger.

Mike McGinn
A majority of the City Council, Greater Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes.
How he got through the primary

Ed Murray
After a slow start because of the long legislative session, Murray ran as a McGinn alternative. His campaign got mainstream support and cash, which he spent on lots of mailers and a TV ad. He won Seattle’s wealthier neighborhoods, including Laurelhurst, Queen Anne and parts of West Seattle.

Mike McGinn
McGinn fired up unions by opposing construction of a Whole Foods, raising concerns over what the grocery pays its workers. His campaign volunteers called more than 100,000 voters. He won in Fremont, the Central District and Ballard, and had a strong showing in South Seattle.
Path to victory

Ed Murray
Gather up primary voters who supported Bruce Harrell and Peter Steinbrueck. Use his campaign money to brand the mayor as ineffective and divisive.

Mike McGinn
Needs massive volunteer effort to call voters, and success in painting Murray as a tool of the downtown establishment.
But he has to overcome

Ed Murray
McGinn’s ground game. The sense that he hasn’t laid out enough specifics on policy issues. Overconfidence brought on by polls showing McGinn trailing.

Mike McGinn
Murray’s money, and a prevailing narrative that he likes conflict more than consensus.

Compare:
Light rail
Living wage
Paying for parks
Crime
Housing
Excessive force by police
Domestic Violence
Broadband

Light rail

Where they agree Both candidates want to get light rail to Ballard, West Seattle and other neighborhoods as soon as possible.
Both support the regional transit agency, Sound Transit, and want to ask voters region-wide to fund a light-rail expansion in 2016.

Where they disagree To get the funding to speed up light-rail to the neighborhoods, Mike McGinn wants a Seattle-only ballot measure to raise additional money.
Ed Murray says that would cut into other transportation priorities. He wants to change the way Sound Transit’s money is divided, so that more dense places get a bigger share of the money.

Living wage

Where they agree Murray and McGinn both express support for increasing the pay and living standards of lower-wage workers. They each backed Seattle’s ordinance requiring employers to offer paid sick leave. McGinn signed the measure into law and Murray opposed a bill that would have substantially weakened the law. (That bill cleared the state Senate but died in the House.)

Where they disagree Murray has pledged to push for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, but move slowly. McGinn says the state should set the wage but supports city action if that doesn’t happen. McGinn called to block the sale of a public alley needed for a West Seattle Whole Foods, project, saying the nonunion store would drive down wages. Murray loudly criticized the maneuver, arguing it’s okay to use city leverage on wages, but wrong to spring it on a single developer in an election year.

Paying for parks

Where they agree McGinn and Murray support renewal of an expiring parks levy in 2014 to pay for a backlog of maintenance and major projects, and a possible new taxing district.

Where they disagree McGinn has proposed a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on soda and other sugary drinks. The tax could raise more than $21 million a year for parks. Murray doesn’t think the tax is viable, noting that voters repealed a statewide soda tax he backed in 2010.

Crime

Where they agree Both say they are committed to reform of the Seattle Police Department under the oversight of the U.S. Justice Department. Both say they will conduct a national search for a reform-minded police chief with a track record of leadership and culture change.

Where they disagree The two candidates disagree about the best way to respond to crime downtown. Murray says there is a problem with violent crime downtown and thinks the city should arrest low-level, chronic offenders and direct them to treatment and services. McGinn has questioned whether there is a problem with crime and disorder downtown, and has launched the Center City Initiative to direct chronic, low-level offenders to more social services.

McGinn froze police hiring in 2010 and 2011 as the city budget crisis deepened, and has since asked for 42 new officers, including 15 he wants to hire in 2014. Murray has proposed hiring 100 officers over the next four years.

Housing

Where they agree Both support renewing the Housing Levy when it expires in 2016. Both support programs that entice developers to help provide affordable housing when they build new apartments. Both support APodments, or microhousing, with certain restrictions.

Where they disagree Murray has been critical of the city allowing big houses that are out-of-scale with existing neighborhoods. McGinn supports city-sanctioned tent encampments for homeless people. Murray does not support expanding existing opportunities for encampments. When speaking on homelessness, Murray emphasizes youth homelessness, which makes up only about 8 percent of the total.

Excessive force by police

where they agree

Mike McGinn and Ed Murray agree with the Department of Justice (DOJ) that Seattle police engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force -- a conclusion reached by the DOJ in a December 2011 report.

where they disagree

Murray says McGinn engaged in unnecessary battles with the DOJ, the City Council and City Attorney Pete Holmes over the scope of reforms that were ultimately adopted under a settlement agreement.

McGinn counters that his efforts brought together civil rights leaders, community leaders and Seattle police leadership to work on a long-term, sustained and open process of reform.

Domestic Violence

Where they agree
McGinn and Murray both say domestic violence is an important issue for the city to address.

Where they disagree
Murray criticizes McGinn’s decision to eliminate the city’s office and director devoted to domestic violence and move its functions within a larger department. Murray pledges he’d restore the office if elected mayor. A PAC ad by a pro-Murray PAC has falsely suggested a link between the re-organized office and a spike in domestic violence. McGinn points out the city has increased funding for domestic violence services during his administration.

Broadband

where they agreeThey agree that more competition among Internet-service providers would be good. McGinn's 2009 campaign promise to pursue a publicly owned broadband network turned out to be too expensive, though he still supports such a network.
Murray prefers publicly owned broadband, and would like to give it another look if he is elected. He acknowledges the cost is a challenge.
McGinn formed a partnership with the University of Washington and Gigabit Squared to lease the city’s publicly owned fiber. If elected, Murray says he would continue the partnership if elected.

where they disagreeThey do not, apparently, disagree. Murray and PACs supporting him have accepted thousands in campaign contributions from Comcast. McGinn suggests Comcast is trying to influence Murray.

More issues to be added regularly

Mike McGinn

Mayor, 53, Greenwood

learn more

Guide to the General Election

Ed Murray

The candidate

Supporters

Opponents

How he got through the primary

Path to victory

But he has to overcome

Light rail

Living wage

Paying for parks

Crime

Housing

Excessive force by police

Domestic Violence

Broadband

Mike McGinn

Campaign financing

Latest mayoral race news

Guide to the General Election

Ed Murray

The candidate

Supporters

Opponents

How he got through the primary

Path to victory

But he has to overcome

Light rail

Living wage

Paying for parks

Crime

Housing

Excessive force by police

Domestic Violence

Broadband

Mike McGinn

Campaign financing

Breakdown by neighborhood

Latest mayoral race news