Our Big Gay Mayor Named Final Seattle Pride Parade Marshal

Seattle’s mayor, the Honorable Ed Murray will be a community marshal for the Seattle Pride Parade this Sunday, June 29, 2014. Murray is the first openly gay mayor of Seattle.

Just released! They save the BEST for LAST! From the press release:

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray is one of the most accomplished elected officials in Washington State and a driving force in advancing LGBT rights. Prior to being elected as our 53rd Mayor, Ed Murray represented Seattle’s 43rd Legislative District for nearly 20 years. His contributions to LGBT leadership reach as far back as 1988 when he managed Cal Anderson’s campaign as Washington State’s first openly gay legislator. We are honored to celebrate Mayor Ed Murray as a community grand marshal of Seattle Pride’s 40th Anniversary, “Generations of Pride.”

Born in Aberdeen, Washington as one of seven children from a working class family, Mayor Murray spent most of his childhood on Alki in West Seattle before attending the University of Portland for a degree in Sociology. Murray first came out as a gay man in 1980, and now lives on Capitol Hill with his husband and partner of 22 years, Michael Shiosaki.

A champion for civil rights, Murray was instrumental in bringing Washington state’s historic marriage equality law forward, as well as the 2002 Safe Schools bill, protecting sexual minority youth from both physical and verbal harassment. Back in 2006, Murray was the prime sponsor of a landmark bill banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Murray’s honors include the 2002 Human Rights Campaign Leadership Equality Award; the 2005 Anti-Defamation League’s Cal Anderson Award; the 2006 Distinguished Public Service Award from the Washington State Psychological Association; the 2009Legislator of the Year Award from the Washington Council of Police & Sheriffs; and the 2012 Warren G. Magnuson Award.

Four decades have passed since the first Seattle Pride week, and through the struggles and opposition, we have created a community; a City that leads the nation on a wide range of social issues. It is through the hard work and dedication of those involved in seeing a better future for Seattle that many of our victories were accomplished. We celebrate “Generations of Pride” with Mayor Ed Murray, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Danielle Askini, Zachary Pullin, Aleksa Manila, and Out in Front, Three Dollar Bill Cinema, and Gay City, who’s leadership and support secure our future progress while honoring our hard fought past. Join us along 4th Avenue on Sunday June 29th for the 40th Anniversary of Seattle Pride.

Sorta interesting! I did not know Our Gay Mayor was “From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah”. Like Mr. Cobain, Mayor Murray speaks for the Common People!