Ed Murray, who is vying to become
Seattle's first openly gay mayor, touts authoring Washington state's
gay marriage law in a new ad released Thursday.
“I represented our city in the state
legislature for 18 years. I've helped fund transit, protect our
environment, improve education, and I wrote our marriage equality
law,” Murray says in the 30-second spot.
The commercial ends with Murray and his
partner walking their dog down a city street. (The video is embedded
on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Before Washington voters upheld the
marriage law approved by legislators, the state recognized gay and
lesbian couples with domestic partnerships. Murray worked with
Representative Jamie Pederson, who is also openly gay, on a series of
bills which slowly shored up the benefits and responsibilities under
the original 2006 law. The last expansion in 2009 gave gay couples
all the rights of marriage.
Murray will compete against a number of
candidates during an August 6 non-partisan primary. The top two
voter-getters will advance to the November general election.