Reacting to new information about sexual-abuse allegations against Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, City Councilmember M. Lorena Gonzalez said Monday that she's asked Murray to consider resigning before his term expires at year-end.
And if the mayor doesn't resign, the council should convene a committee no later than next Monday "to determine if a transition in executive leadership is merited under these circumstances," Gonzalez said in a statement.
"A collaborative approach is my preferred approach but the leadership of this city, including the mayor, must proceed in a manner that will balance the ongoing need to effectively govern while acknowledging the grave harm caused by proceeding with a status quo mentality," Gonzalez said. "This situation is unprecedented in our city's history. We cannot pretend otherwise."
Other councilmembers expressed caution during a briefing, with Councilmember Tim Burgess calling it premature for the council to consider removing Murray and with Councilmember Sally Bagshaw asking her colleagues to "avoid grandstanding."
In a statement Monday afternoon, Murray said he would not resign.
"I continue to believe such a course of action would not be in the city's best interest," he said. "My administration and I continue to govern the city effectively, and I am proud that we continue to deliver results that will improve the lives of the people of Seattle.
"Seattle needs steady, focused leadership over the next several months. We have a lot of work to do. Establishing an effective transition between administrations takes months of careful planning and preparation_work that I and my team have already begun. We do not need the sort of abrupt and destabilizing transition that a resignation would create, likely bringing the city's business to a grinding halt."
Newly released records, previously thought destroyed, show that an Oregon child-welfare investigator concluded in 1984 that Murray had sexually abused his foster son, Jeffrey Simpson, when Simpson was a teenager.
The mayor denies the allegations. In an interview last week, he noted that prosecutors decided decades ago not to charge him.
If Murray were to resign, Council President Bruce Harrell would be in line to become acting mayor. If Harrell declined, the council would select another member for the position.
During a briefing Monday morning, Harrell and other council members urged care in handling the Murray situation.
"I agree with you that strong leadership is needed," he said to Gonzalez. "I would suggest working with our law department to determine what the legal course is and that we talk amongst ourselves."
Bagshaw pointed out that the allegations against Murray are decades old.
"Facts matter," she said. "I hope that we can avoid grandstanding on this. ... At this point, I would like to give the mayor space."
Burgess said it's too early for the council to consider impeachment.
"I think the decisions that the mayor makes about his future are, at this point, his to make," Burgess said. "The process that's outlined for the council to consider removing him, I think, is very clear and premature at this point.
In a phone interview later Monday, Harrell said Murray is entitled to due process.
To push the mayor out, the council "would have to make factual and legal conclusions based on events that occurred 33 years ago and in another state ... that would be a tough task," the council president said.
"I don't believe he should resign today," Harrell said. "If I see examples of him abdicating his responsibilities, not working hard, and not making sure a smooth transition occurs, I would ask for his resignation. But I have no basis to believe that at all today."
(Jim Brunner contributed to this report.)
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