Seattle Mayor Murray throws shade at local newspaper
Jun 23, 2016, 4:24 PM | Updated: 4:53 pm
(AP)
Mayor Ed Murray is upset about leaked information and he’s letting Seattle know about it.
Seattle newspaper The Stranger published an article detailing the current contract negotiations between the city and its police union. Those negotiations are ongoing and no contract has been approved. The police union has yet to vote on the many changes to the contract which was leaked to the newspaper.
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The Stranger posted an overview of the contract on its website. Murray responded to the leaked information with a blog post objecting to the release of the contract and called upon Right and Left political philosophies to make his point. He did not name The Stranger in his post, and instead focused on the act of leaking confidential information amid negotiations with a union. He argued that the “collective bargaining process is a sacrosanct part of both our democratic system and the progressive movement.”
I’m shocked to learn that some who call themselves progressives in our city are willing to sacrifice the integrity of this process for a perceived political gain. I would expect this from the far right in Wisconsin, not the left in Seattle.
Murray further stated that the person who “committed this breach of process interfered” with the good faith of the bargaining process and called the breach “unconscionable.” He said that he fears the negotiations have now been jeopardized and that the city is looking into legal ramifications.
The City is exploring several law enforcement options, including hiring an independent investigator to identify the responsible party and to determine compliance with City laws that require confidentiality in the collective bargaining process, as well as any potential criminal violations under state and federal law. The City is also in discussions about the investigation with the FBI.