Ed Murray (Washington Politician)

Ed Murray (Washington Politician)

Edward B. Murray (born May 2, 1955) is an American politician from Washington state, who serves in the Washington State Senate. Elected to the Senate in 2006, he had previously served 11 years in the Washington State House of Representatives.

A Democrat, Murray was appointed to fill one of the vacant 43rd District seats in the House in October 1995 and was re-elected biennially until he opted not to run for re-election to the House in 2006. The 43rd district, located entirely in Seattle, includes the University District, Montlake, Eastlake, and Capitol Hill neighborhoods. The district is very liberal and reliably Democratic.

In 2006, he announced his intention to challenge Sen. Pat Thibaudeau for the 43rd District seat in the State Senate. In May 2006, Thibaudeau dropped out of her race for re-election and Murray was elected to the Senate with little opposition. He took his senate seat in January 2007. In his first session in the senate (2007–08), he was appointed vice chair of the majority caucus and in the 2009–10 session, he served as chair of the majority caucus. After having been re-elected unopposed in 2010, Murray was appointed chair of the ways & means committee for 2011–12.

Murray previously served as chair of the house transportation committee. He has also been very active in advancing LGBT rights. He led the push for an anti-discrimination law protecting gays and lesbians, a measure that finally passed in 2006 after three decades of debate. He was also the main sponsor of legislation creating domestic partnerships, approved in 2007.

Murray is openly gay; his partner is Michael Shiosaki. He is currently one of six openly gay members of the Washington State Legislature, alongside Representatives Jim Moeller (D–Vancouver), Jamie Pedersen (D–Seattle), Dave Upthegrove (D–Des Moines), Laurie Jinkins (D–Tacoma) and Marko Liias (D–Mukilteo). His election to the Senate, like many of his previous campaigns, won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.