Mayor Ed Murray says Seattle will remain a sanctuary city

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray says the country elected a leader who has “demonstrated outright misogyny” and displayed “racism and authoritarian tendencies.”

However, Murray says that it would be a mistake to view half the country in the same way.

“The fact is the people who voted for Donald Trump have many very different and complex reasons for doing that,” Murray said. “And labeling them will not help us at all. It will not move us forward. We need to understand why this happened.”

Get the latest election results

Speaking at City Hall Wednesday afternoon, Murray said despite the views held by President-elect Donald Trump, Seattle will remain a welcoming city for immigrants and minorities.

“This country has elected a president who during the campaign has demonstrated outright misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, nationalism, racism, and authoritarian tendencies,” he said.

“Last night, I said that Seattle remains the city it was yesterday,” he added later. “It is the same city today. Seattle remains the city guided by our values of equality, inclusion, openness and equity.”

Murray said Seattle would remain a “sanctuary city” that will shelter illegal immigrants, even if it means losing federal funding. He said Seattle is committed to building and growing its relationship with the government of Mexico.

The mayor also urged the Seattle’s liberal residents not to condemn people who voted for the Republican candidate but to “understand and move forward.”

And Murray, who as a state lawmaker led efforts to legalize gay marriage in Washington, said the gay community would not give up the progress made on same-sex marriage.

“Seattle can influence the national dialog,” he said.

Clinton: This is painful and it will be for a long time

Dave: ‘He’ll never win’ they said when Trump announced candidacy

Tangney: Clinton’s loss is like losing the Super Bowl at the goal line

Rantz: Seattle progressives elected Donald Trump

Follow @https://twitter.com/mynorthwest