Democratic Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.) has both given money to and received money from Seattle mayor Ed Murray, a fellow Democrat (no relation) who announced his resignation on Tuesday after a fifth allegation of child sex abuse.
The mayor, in office since 2014, agreed to resign on Tuesday after months of bombshell findings, including that an Oregon Child Protective Services investigator found in 1984 that he sexually abused his foster son. Hours before his resignation, a cousin said he was repeatedly molested by Murray as a teenager when they shared a room in the 1970s. Murray was in his twenties when his cousin says he abused him.
Sen. Murray, yet to comment on the mayor's resignation, helped put him in office, contributing the maximum allowed $700 to his 2013 mayoral campaign through her leadership PAC, according to local campaign finance records.
The contributions went in both directions.
In 2010, Ed Murray, as a member of the Washington state legislature, contributed $500 to Patty Murray's reelection efforts. In 2015, as Seattle's mayor, he gave another $500.
Neither Sen. Murray's office nor campaign responded to inquiries into whether she plans to return the money.
Ed Murray also contributed $250 to President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.
The mayor maintains his innocence despite his resignation, but said he did't want "personal issues" to impact his job.
"While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our city government to conduct the public's business," the mayor explained on Tuesday.
He had already halted his reelection campaign earlier this summer. Jenny Durkan, the Democrat running to succeed Murray in Seattle, removed his name from her campaign website on Tuesday.
"It's clear that it is in everybody's best interest for him to resign," Durkan said. "As a parent, former public official, and openly gay woman, these allegations are beyond sad and tragic; no official is above the law."
Murray is also openly gay.
The final straw for the mayor was the allegation from Murray's cousin, first published in the Seattle Times.
"There would be times when I would fake sleeping because I didn't want him touching me," said Joseph Dyer, an Air Force veteran who shared a room with Murray as a child.
"That's when he would molest me," Dyer said. "And my mother would be right there in the house, she'd be in the living room, and my sisters would be in their rooms, sleeping. And I would be in my room, and he would be in there, molesting me."
Dyer said he decided to come forward after seeing Murray deny other claims.
"I didn't know about any of these other people," he said.
"I saw clips of [Murray] denying what he did, that pissed me off to the point where I am like, 'That's it. I have had enough.' I have been carrying this around for 40-some years. Something has got to be done."