Celebrating 40 Years!
Issue 21 Volume 41
FRIDAY May 24, 2013 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & newsstands
Page 25
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Murray wins key endorsements Gregoire, Royer back his campaign for Seattle mayor courtesy washington state legislature
courtesy pinehurst seattle
Former Seattle Mayor Charley Royer and Former Washington Governor Christine Gregoire
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Former Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and former Seattle Mayor Charley Royer have endorsed State Sen. Ed Murray’s bid to become the first openly Gay mayor of Seattle “Throughout his career, Ed Murray has successfully taken on the tough issues, and he’s succeeded by building coalitions no one believed were possible. I’ve seen him do it on transportation, on budgets, and of course on civil rights and marriage equality,” Gregoire said in a statement released May 21. “I believe Seattle would benefit from that kind of collaborative leadership, and I am happy to offer Ed my enthusiastic support,” she added. Gregoire worked closely with Murray throughout her two terms as governor (2005-12), notably on the Marriage Equality Act last year, but also on steps to deal with the state’s ongoing budget crisis. Her relationship with incumbent
Mayor Mike McGinn, in contrast, was notoriously frosty. In 2010, in the midst of controversy over the projected waterfront viaduct replacement, McGinn publicly insulted Gregoire when she announced bids on the deep-bore tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. “I don’t believe we can trust the governor to keep her promise to protect us,” McGinn told a press conference. BURGESS DROPS OUT Royer, a former TV news anchor who went on to become a popular three-term mayor (1978-89), had been a Tim Burgess supporter until Burgess dropped out of the race May 17. Royer endorsed Murray the same day. “Charley and Ed have had a good relationship for a long time,” Murray campaign consultant Sandeep Kaushik told SGN. “When Ed was first thinking about running for mayor, he talked with see murray page 5
Jim cash
raises big bucks City leaders take Pride Purr with bartender ‘auction’ in historic celebration Rainbow flag to fly at Seattle City Hall during June Keraelk
by Sam West Special to the SGN It has been nearly 40 years since the first Pride celebration in Seattle, but this year will be the first in which city leaders display the rainbow flag at City Hall throughout the entire month of June. In an official press release, Mayor Mike McGinn said the flag, which will be raised at a public ceremony June 1, represents Seattle’s commitment to equality. “By flying the flag over Seattle City Hall, we honor that commitment to leading by example in the march toward equal rights for all,” McGinn said. Seattle City Hall has been the site of several major firsts in the Gay community recently. The city is one of the first in the country to offer Transgender-oriented medical benefits to its employees, and officials signed a legal brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals denouncing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). After Washington voters ap-
2013 Bartender Date Auction for the Inspire Youth Project
by Albert Rodriguez SGN A&E Writer
Flesh sells. Just ask any of the participants at Wednesday evening’s “Bartender Auction,” hosted by GLAMAZONIA at Purr Cocktail Lounge in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. An annual see flag page 6 fundraiser for the Inspire Youth
Project (formerly Rise n’ Shine), this year’s event raised over $32,000 at press time, but according to restaurant-bar owner Barbie Humphrey that total is likely to increase when money from raffle tickets is added to the final tally. see purr page 6