James E. West
41st Mayor of Spokane, Washington
In office 2003 – 2005
Preceded by	John Powers
Succeeded by	Dennis P. Hession
Member of the Washington Senate from the 6th district
In office 1986 – 2003
Preceded by	John H. Happy
Member of the Washington House of Representatives
In office 1983 – 1986
Born	March 28, 1951(1951-03-28) Salem, Oregon
Died	July 22, 2006 (aged 55)
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Ginger Marshall (1990–1995)
Profession	Politician
Religion	African Methodist Episcopal

James Elton "Jim" West (March 28, 1951 – July 22, 2006) was an American politician. In 2005, while Mayor of Spokane, Washington, he was the target of allegations of the sexual abuse of boys twenty years earlier. He admitted to engaging in homosexual behavior with adults in recent years, despite an earlier record of supporting anti-gay legislation. Though never charged, he was removed from office by recall in 2005. The Federal Bureau of Investigation eventually closed its investigation and took no action for lack of evidence.

[edit] Early years

West was a native of Spokane, Washington. He served in the U.S. Army after high school and graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in Criminal Justice in 1978.

West was good friends with David D. Hahn and both were officers with the Spokane Sheriff's Department. They also worked together as troop leaders with the Boy Scouts of America. In 1981, Hahn committed suicide after charges of his involvement in the sexual abuse of boys became public.

In 1982, West joined the Washington Legislature as a Republican and served until 2003, at times holding the post of Senate Majority Leader. During his years in the legislature, West developed a record as an opponent of rights for homosexuals. He supported several "anti-gay" bills, including one that would have banned gays and lesbians from working in schools and day care centers. He unsuccessfully proposed a law banning all sexual activity among persons under the age of 18. In 1995, when West was a state senator, he advocated the impeachment of Gov. Mike Lowry for alleged sexual harassment.

He served as mayor of Spokane from 2003 to 2005.

[edit] Investigation

In June, 2003, under editor Steven A. Smith, the Spokesman Review, Spokane's only daily newspaper, began a series of investigative reports into a series of sexual abuse incidents that had occurred in Spokane during the 1970s and 1980s but went unreported at the time. Reporters tried but failed to link West to anything his friend Hahn had done twenty years earlier.^[1] The newspaper nevertheless targeted West in a sting operation. In 2004 reporter Bill Morlin, working on a tip from a source that has not been identified publicly, had a professional investigator arrange a date through a gay website, gay.com, and West appeared for the date as the tip predicted.^[1]

In 2005, sex-abuse charges against West surfaced. Robert J. Galliher claimed that West had committed sexual abuse against him while a member of West's Boy Scout troop. These charges about events two decades old could not be confirmed by other witnesses and Galliher's long criminal record tended to discredit him as well. West called the molestation allegations "flat lies," but admitted to having private online relationships in the past year through the gay.com website.^[2] It was alleged that he offered unpaid internships to young gay men, none under the age of 18, though some were just graduating from high school.^[3] West denied charges that he had sought out minors.

Calls for his resignation spread. West defended himself on the Today Show on May 30, 2005. He explained his support for laws 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 afterward, a resolution requesting that he step down 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.^[4] The FBI conducted its own investigation and a special city commission was set up to investigate and determine if any laws or policies had been broken^[5] In early August, 2005, the FBI searched West's home and seized his personal computers as part of its public corruption investigation.

Organizers of a recall gathered a sufficient number of signatures, and a special mail-in election was held on December 6, 2005, to determine whether West would remain in office. West was recalled by the voters with 65% in favor of ousting him to 35% in favor of keeping him as mayor. His term ended on December 16, 2005, the day the final votes were certified by the Spokane County Auditor's office. West's ouster marked the first time in the history of Spokane that a sitting mayor was voted out of office.

On February 16, 2006 the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued its report closing its investigation of West. In the FBI report, Attorney Mark Bartlett said "we did not find facts that would justify initiating federal criminal charges."

[edit] Later years

Toward the end of his life, West regretted voting for anti-gay measures as a state legislator. 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.^[6]

West was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2003. By the early fall of 2005 West's isolation from the Spokane community was nearly complete. He had only a few friends and family to turn to for support during his illness. He joined the conservative Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Spokane led by Pastor Lonnie Mitchell. He received support there and attended services regularly until his death from complications from cancer on July 22, 2006.^[7]

[edit] Election results

List of votes from all of West's elections.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Spokesman Review full investigative report
• Today Show
• Even the mayor wonders: Who is the real Jim West? (Seattle Times)
• PBS Frontline report A Hidden Life (November 2006)