James E. West (politician)
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- This article is about the Washington state politician. For the BSA Chief Executive, see James E. West (Scouting). For other similar names see James West
James Elton West (March 28, 1951 – July 22, 2006), best known as Jim West, was the mayor of Spokane, Washington. He was recalled during a special election held on December 6, 2005. On December 16, the day the votes were certified, he was officially stripped of his duties as mayor.
West was a native Spokanite. He served in the U.S. Army after high school and graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in Criminal Justice in 1978. In 1982 West joined the Washington Legislature as a Republican and served until 2003, when he became mayor of Spokane.
While in the legislature he served as Senate Majority Leader. During these years, West supported several anti-gay bills, including one that would have banned gays and lesbians from working in schools and day care centers. He also proposed a law that would ban all sexual activity among persons under the age of 18 (the bill failed). He would later admit that he regretted voting for those measures.[1] In 1995, when West was a state senator, he advocated the impeachment of then-Gov. Mike Lowry for alleged sexual harassment.
West was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2003, underwent multiple surgeries, and died from complications of the disease on July 22, 2006. ([2]).
[edit] Sex scandal
West was involved in a sex scandal in 2005. He was accused of sexually abusing two young boys in the 1970s and 1980s when he was a sheriff's deputy, NAMBLA member and Boy Scout leader. He was also accused of misusing his office as mayor to lure teenage boys for sexual relationships. West called the molestation allegations "flat lies". However he admitted to having private online relationships in the past year through the Gay.com website (see ([3]).
West confirmed the accusations of meeting men over the Internet but denied the charges that he had sought out minors (see[4]). Using the name "Right-BiGuy" he allegedly offered internships to young gay men (some of whom were just graduating from high school).
Calls for his resignation spread. West defended himself on a May 30, 2005, Today Show appearance. West explained his support for laws which were unfavorable to gays in this way: "If someone hires you to paint their house red, then you paint it red. Even if you think it would look better green." In a Spokane City Council meeting immediately afterwards, a resolution requesting that he step down was passed unanimously (7-0), yet West announced he intended to continue on as Mayor.
On June 2, the Spokane County Republican Party, Washington State Republican Party, and Spokane County Democratic Chairwoman Katie Kirking called for West's resignation ([5]). The FBI and a special city commission were set up to investigate and determine if any laws or policies have been broken ([6]). In early August 2005, the FBI searched West's home and seized his personal computers as part of its public corruption investigation.
Shannon Sullivan, a Spokane citizen with no prior legal experience, filed a recall petition. A Superior Court Justice threw out two counts on the petition and upheld one. Mayor West then appealed that ruling to the State Supreme Court. On August 24, 2005, the State Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sullivan, allowing the recall to go forward. Because the State Supreme Court heard and ruled on this case in an emergency session during their summer recess, they did not file and publish a full opinion following their ruling.
Recall organizers collected over 17,000 signatures and submitted them to the elections office on September 21, 2005. The elections office determined that more than 12,567 of those signatures were valid, so a special mail-in election was held on December 6, 2005, to determine whether Mayor West would remain in office.
West was recalled by voters with 65% in favor of ousting him to 35% in favor of keeping him as mayor, with his term ending December 16, 2005, the day the final votes were certified by the Spokane County Auditor's office.
The ousting of West also marked the first time in the history of Spokane that a sitting mayor was voted out of office. His duties were temporarily turned over to then-city council president Dennis P. Hession on December 16, 2005, who was later appointed by the city council to serve as mayor for the remainder of West's term. From a legal point of view, West was cleared of all charges by the FBI on February 16, 2006.
In the final days of his life, West was mulling over another opportunity to run for office. He also told KREM in his last TV interview that during his tenure in the state legislature he only regretted one vote, for a bill that would have banned gays from working in schools and day-care centers.
| Preceded by John Powers |
Mayor of Spokane, Washington 2003–2005 |
Succeeded by Dennis P. Hession |
