SEATTLE �� Had former Seattle Mayor Ed Murray's political biography been written early this year, it might have begun this way:
A Western Washington native and self-described social-justice Catholic whose father worked in a steel mill, Murray forged his political know-how as a gay rights activist. He sharpened it as a deal-making state lawmaker and wielded it as a temperamental but effective mayor, helping to raise Seattle's minimum wage and its national profile.
Instead, the 62-year-old will be remembered as a once-important leader disgraced and destroyed _ despite his vehement denials _ by multiple allegations of child sex abuse in a sad scandal that tested his city's progressive values.
Already accused by four men of abusing them decades ago, when they were teenagers, Murray resigned Wednesday after a younger cousin went public with a fifth claim.
The mayor's public undoing, which dragged on for months, was agonizing for survivors of abuse who were shaken by each new allegation, legal maneuver and headline _ while wondering what more it would take for Murray to exit.
And stubborn support for Murray among Seattle politicos added to the anguish, said Danni Askini, executive director of the Gender Justice League and herself a survivor of child sexual abuse.
"It just became evident that folks were going to watch and wait because they saw it as political and didn't want to end up on the wrong side of it politically," she said, mentioning that homophobic stereotypes complicated the situation.
So, there's relief as Murray recedes from public view _ along with disappointment and unease as others in civic life try to understand what happened, account for how they reacted and move on.
Jamie Pedersen, a Democratic state senator, said some of his Seattle constituents have demanded that he retract past statements in which he called Murray a good lawmaker and mayor.
Pedersen has refused, he said in an interview, describing Murray as "a human being, just like the rest of us ... made of a unique combination of attributes and faults."
Murray's lasting work should be recognized, Pedersen said. "I would strongly disagree with the idea that his legacy of public service can be erased by these allegations _ even if they are true," he said. "There are a whole lot of people in Washington who enjoy employment and nondiscrimination protections that they would not have had _ or wouldn't have had as quickly _ but for his leadership."
Though Pedersen said people can judge for themselves how to weigh Murray's accomplishments against the abuse claims, a former deputy mayor harbors no illusions about the assessment most people will make.
"Ed will be remembered first in people's minds for the scandal and the resignation rather than the legacy of the work he got done," said Tim Ceis, who served under Mayor Greg Nickels.
Murray's accusers say what he did to them matters most.
"I would really like for him to admit it and to take responsibility," Jeff Simpson, Murray's former foster son, said in April. "I don't necessarily think that he destroyed my life, but I believe a lot of the problems I have stemmed from this."
