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Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn leaves the podium after conceding the mayor’s race Thursday to State Sen. Ed Murray. McGinn said he had called Murray to congratulate him and offer any assistance needed in the transition.
(Photo by Alan Berner / The Seattle Times)

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has conceded the mayor’s race, saying he called state Sen. Ed Murray this morning to congratulate him on his victory and offer support in his transition.

“I let him know he was going to be in for an extraordinary four years,” McGinn said at a morning news conference.

After more ballots were counted Wednesday, Murray was leading by 13,211 votes, with 55 percent support, compared with 44 percent for McGinn.

In a speech at his Chinatown International District campaign headquarters, McGinn acknowledged that he might have rubbed some people the wrong way, but said “I hope people know I was always trying to do the right thing.”

McGinn did not close the door to future political runs, saying he would find a way to be involved in public service once his single mayoral term ends in December.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and state Sen. Ed Murray went after each others’ records and effectiveness in their first televised debate before a studio audience this afternoon. The debate will air tonight on KING-TV at 7 p.m. and The Seattle Times will host a live chat with readers during the airing. Murray criticized McGinn’s leadership…

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and state Sen. Ed Murray engaged in a mostly low-key debate Tuesday sponsored by social services organizations at the Garfield Community Center.

Both mayoral rivals boasted of their records of seeking to direct more money to services for the homeless and poor. They only indirectly criticized each other — McGinn pointing to the state Legislature cutting services for the mentally ill and Murray saying he’d collaborate better with elected leaders to build support for new revenue.

It was only the end of the debate that produced fireworks, as Murray appeared to become irritated by McGinn’s latest attempt to portray him as the bought-and-paid-for candidate of the downtown business establishment.

In his one-minute closing statement, McGinn jabbed at Murray’s frequent claim he’d be a more unifying leader as Seattle mayor.

McGinn said Murray has united corporate donors like “Coke, Pepsi, Vulcan, Comcast…”

Murray, standing behind McGinn, interrupted: “And labor unions, Planned Parenthood.”

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn’s second-place showing in the Aug 6. primary puts him in a precarious position headed into his general election campaign.

Former Seattle Mayor Wes Uhlman
(Photo by Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times)

McGinn finished with with 28.5 percent of the vote in the nine-person race. State Sen. Ed Murray topped the field with 29 percent.

Conventional wisdom says to stick a fork in McGinn, since more than 70 percent of voters chose someone else in the primary. “This result means Ed Murray is the next mayor of Seattle,” crowed former City Councilmember Jim Compton on election night.

But one modern mayor pulled off a comeback after an even weaker primary showing.

In 1973, Mayor Wes Uhlman placed a distant second in the primary to City Councilman Liem Tuai. Uhlman took just 30.5 percent of the primary vote, compared with Tuai’s 43.7 percent. The rest was split among other challengers, including City Councilmembers Sam Smith and Tim Hill.

Nevertheless, Uhlman went on to defeat Tuai in the general election by 5266 votes.

So it can be done. But should McGinn take heart in the example?

Uhlman doesn’t think so.

“If was a different kind of time and very different issues,” he recalled.

Uhlman was a flashy figure at a chaotic time in Seattle history. Elected in 1969 at age 34, he cut a reformers’ path through city government — clashing with municipal unions over his efforts to hire more women and minorities, especially in the police and fire departments. (The unions ran a failed recall election against him in 1975.) Uhlman also proclaimed Seattle’s first Gay Pride week.

Mayoral candidate Ed Murray and campaign volunteers do some last minute phone banking Tuesday afternoon. The Wi-Fi in their office was a little weak so some split off to work in the Kaladi Brothers Coffee cafe down the street on Pike in Capitol Hill. (Bettina Hansen / The Seattle Times) Supporters of the Ed Murray…

Mayor Mike McGinn talks with undecided voters at his campaign headquarters and call center in the International District Tuesday morning. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times) Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn’s campaign is downplaying expectations in advance of tonight’s batch of primary returns. John Wyble, the mayor’s political consultant, says McGinn might not be among the top…

Need some help sorting through the nine candidates for mayor? Our Seattle Times mayoral guide is here, giving you everything you need to make your choice. Get to know the contenders — their neighborhoods, families and management experience — then get an idea of where they align on the issues facing the city, like…

Charlie Staadecker, struggling in the polls, has settled on a strategy for winning votes for Seattle mayor: portraying himself as the race’s version of Dos Equis’ “most interesting man in the world.” Staadecker, a realtor and arts patron, has made five web videos parodying the popular Mexican beer commercials. The first video, posted online Monday, starts…

State Sen. Ed Murray, getting a rating of “outstanding,” topped the nine-candidate field in the Seattle mayor’s race in ratings released today by the Municipal League. Mayor Mike McGinn and former City Councilmemeber Peter Steinbrueck were rated “very good;” City Councilmember Bruce Harrell and real-estate broker Charles Staadecker were rated “good.” The Municipal League characterizes its ratings…

Former King County Executive Ron Sims Thursday threw his support in the Seattle mayor’s race to State Sen. Ed Murray, citing Murray’s ability to build coalitions to improve transportation and the city’s schools. “I really was enthusiastic about endorsing him. I want him to be the next mayor of Seattle,” said Sims, who retired last year…