Yesterday after a two week vacation, Mayor West returned to City Hall. He had nothing at all to say to the press, let alone answer any questions of any kind, and still, has given no indication that he will step down. Councilwoman Sheri Rodgers said that with the Mayor back at City Hall, the feeling there is rather "bizarre". No doubt it is. I read also where the Mayor after all, will be attending a morning prayer breakfast, which I think is rather fitting, given that he will need lots of these.

Big article on the Mayor's appearance at the huge prayer breakfast yesterday in this mornings' Spokesman-Review. Again, the Mayor said little to the press at all, other than he is not quite ready yet to address the charges against him. I was disgusted by the quotes of many who also attended this meeting, who offered their "love and support" for Jim West. The hypocrisy meter is still off the charts. Why do I know that if Jim West were a Dem., the Repugs in Spokane would be calling for his impeachment, instead of saying things like, " so he has sinned, who amongst us hasn't"? Its disgusting.

Thanks for the heads up, puckman1. I'm gonna check out the paper's site and read the story on this latest development in this sad saga.

In yet another Editorial this morning, the Spokesman-Review has again called for Mayor West to step down, calling his "wreckless acts, unnacceptable." They also noted only 2 of the seven Spokane City Council members have called for the Mayor to step down, while the majority want to wait awhile. For what, I ask???. The cloud hanging over Spokane will not go away, until West is gone. :mad:

Mayor West gave a press conference a short while ago. In it, he said he has no intention what so ever of stepping down. He also said he expects to be exonerated. Yeah right. If you believe this I have some snow for sale in Antarctica!!
The Spokane Chamber of Cmmerce has now called for the Mayor to step down as well.

It should also be another interesting Spokane City Council meeting today. The council is under pressure to pass a much stronger statement/ordinance, calling for West to resign. As I mentioned last week, they attempted to pass a statment that basically gave West another 2 weeks to get his act togther, which failed on a 3-3 vote, with one Council member absent. Tonight the 7 council members will again make an attempt to call for the Mayor to resign, even though they have no power to do so. Stay tuned.

Yet another story this morning out of the Spokesman-Review about more allegations of Mayor West. According to the Review, two more men have come forward to say that Jim West pulled down their pants at a boy scout camp in the 1970's. And another man says that as a deputy, West fondled him during a search for marijuana.

On top of all of this later after moving to the Wash. State legislature, West made an innapropriate sexual comment about the son of Sate Senator Pam Roach ®, of Auburn, Wa.

Roach has told the Spokesman-Review that West was kneeling by her desk in the Senate chamber around 1990 conferring on a pice of legislation, when he saw her then 18 year old son, who was working as a tour guide in the State Capitol.

"West told me, 'I want to do to your son, what no mother would want to know,'" Roach said. " He then got up and left."

There is now a strong reason why West refuses to step down. In addition to the fact he seems to beleive he will be exhonerated, Mayor West has been battling colon cancer, and if he were to step down, he would lose his medical coverage after about 3 months. Plus he is close to retirement as well, and this too, would be in jeopardy.

The calls for his resignation grow louder each day now. Will keep everybody up to date as always.

[ May 24, 2005, 06:48 AM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

Six of 7 City Council members are now calling for West to resign.

And what is the seventh council member doing? Hoping West propositions him ? It really does seem like we're into West's final days in office, even if the city has to provide him sort of insurance-based severance package to force him to leave.

~Adam

My guess is that the city can't do anything to force him to leave. He is an elected official, he would have to be recalled. The city council can call for him to resign, but they can't force him. That doesn't mean they can't make his life as may difficult. With 6 council members against him, they could make votes and decisions that would make it very difficult for him to govern.

Kuj: right you are. The city cannot force him to leave, but the City Council can and will, it now seems, make an official proclamation calling for him to resign, which is expected on next Monday's regular City Council meeting. In addition a recall petition is in the works again. It will require the signatures of just over 12,000 registered voters in the city if this works through the system, and now is on track. There are 4 current investigations swirling around Jim West at the moment.

It also appears the Repug. party may now be more willing then they have to seriously distance themselves from him or even go so far as to also call for him to step down.

Puckman ... every morning I come on here and read your updates about what's going on in Spokane. Thank you for posting them!

Your welcome. I will keep this up to date.

As of now, all 7 City Council memebers are calling on West to resign. More on the local news this afternoon about his alleged molestation charges against him, and how damaging they have been to one victim.

I can't imagine he'll be in office very much longer. Is there ANYONE who thinks he should be allowed to remain in office?

You may have misconstued my meaning: I never said the city council could force him to resign, only that if West has yet to step down in part due to his need for the medical insurance, the city council may be able to work out some sort of deal with him--granting him an insurance-based settlement of some sort if he steps down.

As for the role of the city council, is there anything in the city charter about the council having the ability to hold impeachment hearings?

~Adam

Adam, I hear you re: impeachment, but nope, the City Council doesn't have this authority, but they should have this. More info in this mornings Spokesman-Review in greater detail about one of the original molestation accusations again West. Pretty sick.

In addition at least one Spokane County Commissioner is now calling for West to step down. The pressure from the business community is really getting loud. All 3 County Commissioners are Repugs. here.

The Chambers of Commerce and the Spokane Economic Development Council say they are spending way to much time answering questions about what is going on in Spokane right now.

[ May 26, 2005, 06:45 AM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

For the first time so far there were about a dozen or so people picketing in front of City Hall today calling for the stepping down of Jim West. Here! Hear!!!

I understand where my idiot Mayor West is going to be on the "Today" show this morning fwiw. He still won't directly address the Spokane media in a question and answer format but he will talk to the national media. Still alot of letters to the editors here about urging him to step down etc.

I read about his appearance on "Today" and also read the reports about the investigation and West's political background on the Spokesman-Review website.

What a pitiful man in denial.

West reminds me of Roy Cohn, the high-powered lawyer whose client was right-wing Sen. Joe McCarthy? It was in the fictional of Cohn in the play and the TV miniseries "Angels in America" where he said that he was straight and not a faggot, he was just a man who had sex with other men.

I'm certain that there are more people like West in politics, religion and other areas and, personally, I hope these outings happen more often. Just like a car crash, this incident is very ugly to look at but I can't take my eyes off of it.

Thanks for the updates.

Watched the appearance on the "Today" show this morning. It was quite pathetic. Now he's cloaking himself in the gay victim shroud. And he claimed all his anti-gay votes were simply of a matter of his reflecting the will of his constituents. What a crock of shit!

I saw it too, pathetic is right.
He should resign and become CFO of Uncle Tom's Log Cabin.

There is now a website devoted to the removal of West. Westmustgo.com says it is not their purpose to pass judement on personal behaviors, or so they claim, and their entire focus will be to get West to resign and spare the city from any further damage and/or embarrassment. They are actively looking for people to picket downtown in front of city hall as often as possible.
In tonights' City Council meeting, even though Mayor West asked the council to postpone a vote until he was back in town, the council is expected to draft a resolution calling for his resignation. In addition to this they are also considering adopting a resolution calling for a change in procedures that would allow the council to have the ability to impeach a Mayor and/or be able to discipline a Mayor which they cannot do as of now.
West still says he will not resign again today.
I heard his explanation of why he thinks he is not a hypocrit from a snippet on the "Today" show today. He is pathetic.

[ May 31, 2005, 05:36 PM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

Ok, Raze, that's twice you made me laugh out loud this evening. Thanks!

More Republican hypocricy. What a shock. Can't he just be a man and admit he likes dick?

I was watching the City Council meeting last ninght, which is televised, last night on and off. They took a ton of public testimony about what they were thinking about doing with the new resolution proposed that asks Mayor West to step down. Most of the citiziens were right in line with the council that he needs to step down, but there were a few that said due process must be allowed to continue. By the way the vote asking the Mayor to resign was a unanimous vote of 7-0.

One lady who got up could not have put it any better. She noted that West said in the "Today" interview, that he was representing the majority of his constituents when he explained why he constantly voted against anything to do with gay rights. She said then he should take his own advice and go along with the majority of his constituents again, who in many local polls taken, say that he should resign! Well put!

Then the meeting got really, really colorful when a former City Council member named Steven Eugster, got up and went off on how what the Spokesman-Review did was supposedly "illegal" in his words. He was at the podium far, far longer than the 2 minutes allowed were given, and at one point, things got so heated I understand a police officer almost had to escort Mr. Eugster from the podium in the council chambers.

In this mornings Spokesman-Review the lawyers for the paper said that "we carefully reviewed the procedures that the Spokesman-Review has undertaken and are confident that the conduct of the paper was not illegal and that the actions of the newspaper, did not infringe on Mayor Wests' privacy." I guess now this FRiday the Mayor will again address the local media, hopefully in a question and answer format. Finally!!

[ June 01, 2005, 05:29 PM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

So, this conservative Republican admits to having sexual relations with a number of men (only after being stupid enough to get caught), votes in favor of anti-gay legislation many times, and says it's because his constituents in the area wanted it that way.

Then, I guess we can assume he would have been first in line helping to round up the homos in Nazi Germany for their trip to the death camps.



[ June 01, 2005, 02:08 PM: Message edited by: dfwAggie99 ]

I just looked at the westmustgo website, and according to them today at 4:00pm, it is anticpated that the Republican party will ask Mayor West to step down. Its taken them this long??????

Just who does he think he is, a Catholic priest?

He should follow what the former governor of New Jersey do, resign (not because he was gay, but because he abused his power).

As of this morning West is back in Spokane from a meeting that was held in Tampa. Yesterday while en route to Spokane, Wests' attornies still said the Mayor has no plans to resign, even though the local and state chapters of the Republican Party have now asked him to step down.Cathy McMorris the new freshman Congresswoman who recently beat George Nethercutt said she had spoken in private with West, and urged him to "get help." She said the final decision must be his alone. As I have mentioned before, today around 4:00pm time I believe he will hold his first question and answer press conference with the media. I will post more after the conference today.

[ June 03, 2005, 06:34 AM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

Hey Puckman1,

Thanks so much for all of your very, very informative messages about what's happening to West in Spokane. You've kept me up to date on this nutcase and the community's responses to his b.s. up in Washington.

Wow! Bear with me here. The Mayor just got done with a 30 minute (local) media question and answer, that was to say the least..colorful, and occasionally very heated.

The Mayor opened, again with a statement, apologizing. And he said alot of people said they didn't know what he was apologizing for.(When he did this prior). He said he had dissappointed alot of people including his family, and even angered alot of people. Yes, can you say the gay community of Spokane Mr. Mayor?????

Most of the first questions had to do with how he thought he could continue to lead Spokane when so many organizations, and big ones,the business community and including the City Council are asking him to step down. He answered by claiming many new big things happening in Spokane, which there are, but he is trying to take claim for them apparantly. He also said that he had spoken with many of these business organizations and both he and they, he claims, will continue to work in a "professional manner."

Then somebody asked if he had considered suing the Spokesman-Review newspaper, and he said he is, he is in talks with his Lawyers about this, and couldn't talk much further on this subject.

I next heard a lady from a local radio station ask a question, with two parts, the second part being would he take a polygraph test. At this point when the reporter kept at the question about the polygraph and then the Mayor became visibly angered, and a couple of times shot back, " are you going to let me answer the question?" They kept going back and forth and then Wests' lawyers got up and called for civility in the news conference, at which time I heard West tell the lawyers, " its okay."

Another great question was did the Mayor think that his involvement with 18 year olds was inappropriate? He never did really answer this question, and babbled all over the place. The only thing I heard him say clearly was that he said he was never invovled with anyone under 18 years of age. He also claimed that he supposedly has never misrepresented the office of the Mayor by offering young male teens jobs as interns, but did say that he was always suggesting to people, when a State Senator and now a Mayor, that they apply for positions as interns with the City, but never referred to if these people were young men, or not.

One of the last best questions had to do with his now admitted sexual orientation. He claimed that he is "at complete peace with myself" and had taken up offers of help with some local Pastors. His last statement was basically that his orientation was "nobody's business". And with that snide response promptly left the room.

Bottom line, he still said he is not leaving and will stay and fight this even if it bankrupts him he said.

He also didn't really have much of answer of how he thought the City felt about being the butt of nationwide tv show jokes, like Letterman and Jay Leno.

Right now I am watching the local news where they are getting some reaction from some City Council members who are saying they have not changed their position about wanting the Mayor to resign. Right on. There are about 50 people picketing in front of City Hall as well.

I guess it ain't over till its over folks!

Who's paying for his lawyers, the Mayor himself? Does he have private wealth that allows him to hire a few attorneys?

He is for now. As far as wealth, I don't believe so. One thing he also said was that he did not run for Mayor for the money. The Mayor here receives about $130K annually, which is alot more than the $40K West recieved when he was in the State House.

If anyone else gets Editorialist Leonard Pitts Jr.(Miami Herald) in their paper he had an interesting column this morning. It reads:

Gay Conservatives are conflicted:

Is it just me or does the mayor seem conflicted? Granted James West has alot to be conflicted about. He has been less clear and forceful in talking about his sexuality sexuality itself.

West has told the Spokesman-Review " I wouldn't characterize me as gay." But yet 4 days later he tells the paper, " I am being destroyed because I am a gay man."

Last week on the "Today" show, Matt Lauer tried to pin him down. Gay? Not gay?
Wests' reply, " you know Matt, bisexual, gay..."
There is more. West, who as a state legislator once backed a law, that would have banned gays from working in schools or daycare centers, was asked how he could have taken such positions.

He told Lauer that as a representative for a district where people oppose gay rights, he had no choice. As if someone had held a gun to his head, and forced him to run for office in Bigot County.

West, who in the privacy of chat rooms referred to social conservatives as "sex Nazis," seemed at pains to burnish his conservative bonafides.
" I am not a closet liberal," he insisted, "pretending to be a conservative. I am a conservative. And what's wrong with somebody who has an alternative lifestyle or orientation being a conservative?"

Well golly! Me, I have always thought of being a gay social conservative, was not unlike being a black Klansman. Even if you could get away with it, who would you want to?

I am sure, Mary Cheney is holding on line 2, but the point stands. It eludes me how anyone can support a political philsophy, which is defined in part by its open hostility towards people like oneself.

I suspect West belongs to that school of conservative thought, which holds that being gay isn't the problem, "flaunting" it is. For social conservatives, even a modest indication of gayness is a nuclear attack upon "family values."
When they say "flaunting," what they really mean is "existing."

James West sought to split the difference, to have it both ways, to be gay, but in the official conservative-approved manner, i.e., secretly and shame-facedly, skulking about in the dark as if ones sexual identity were somehow ignominious. You can see how well that's worked out.

Now like Rush Limbaugh discussing drug addiction, he finds himself forced to speak a language he has long derided, use words that don't seem to fit his mouth.
"Alternative lifestyle," indeed.

Maybe now some of us will stop pretending the conservative-approved model of being gay, makes any sense. I mean, granted, West didn't flaunt his sexuality. But his hypocrisy is something else entirely.

I'm not conflicted in either respect, but then I'm more of a Libertarian than a conservative. Labeling this political has-been a self-serving hypocrite is an easy call for me, which the columnist admits is different from what he calls conservatism. But to define conservatism as he does is inaccurate and paints too broadly. A better label for the attitude - it's too mindless and simplistic to be called a "philosophy" - described would be plain old fashioned bigotry.

Here is the latest bit of drama from this mess. Today, Wests' attornies are accusing City Councilwoman Sheri Rodgers of inappropriate use of her City office. They claim that she tried to obtain an autopsy report from Kootenai County (Idaho) for an 18 year old who died back in 1988 and who was aparantly taking scuba diving lessons from Mayor Wests' then diving shop. Sheri Rodgers first comments this afternoon have been that this was not an inappropriate use. Sheri Rodgers was the first Councilperson calling for West to resign. Updates as they happen! wink

I would think by now the citizens would be tired of this whole mess and the fact West remaining in office is just keeping it going and preventing the real work of the city from getting done. IMHO West is hurting the city he is working for, I can't see even the people who voted for him wanting him to stay in office.

Kuj: you hit the nail on the head. Its is a mess, and it has been totally distracting to everything currently going on in Spokane. There isn't a day that goes by that there isn't something new in the news, case in point the allegations from Wests' attornies about the City Councilwoman Sheri Rogers. In this mornings newspaper, I understand that the City Attorney is getting ready to release 5 binders full of e-mails recovered from a computer in Wests' office. All told 12,000 e-mails were recovered from the Mayors' computer. The Spokesman-Review is still standing by its story that on several occasions the Mayor sent e-mails from his city computer to a computer analyst hired by the paper to confirm that West was using the internet to solicit dates.

In other news a recall is still moving forward. But has been temporarily delayed, as yesterday a judge delayed a decision on the recall petition, saying sponsor Shannon Sullivan deserves time to read a legal memo from Wetts' attorneys. His attorneys are trying to toss this recall, of course.

[ June 09, 2005, 07:03 AM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

Big headline story in the Spokesman-Review this morning about the local gay community's reaction to the West scandal. generally it seems like most are rather angry and upset over West's record on gay rights, but there were a few sympathizers mentioned as well, or people who said, they feel sorry for the man, "but"!! I understand no one however made any attempt to contact the Mayor to invite him to attend the gay pride celebration on Saturday, but according to a spokesperson for the Mayor, he will not be attending. Like, what a surprise.
The paper said that supposedly a record turnout is expected for the pride parade and celebration downtown at Riverfront Park.

[ June 10, 2005, 06:20 AM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

Finally, the gay voice of the Inland Northwest speaks about West! (page 2)

There comes a time when an elected official, a public servant, must realize that the office which he holds is itself more important than he himself. When someone such as West continues to drag this on, deflecting the main issue with ridiculous claims of anti-gay bias against him, he has forfeited his role as a public servant and no longer possesses such right to hold such office, even if he cannot be immediately removed.

By refusing to take the ethical, and dignified, approach and stepping down, he has further politicized and cheapened the office that he holds so dear, relegating it to some insignificant personal possession subject to his own whims. It is obvious, and sad, that he does not realize this. He has shamed himself but worse has shamed his office, and for that he deserves no sympathy, certainly no respect.

"West says he has changed his way"
read the story in the Spokesman-Review this morning.

Spokane Mayor Jim West said he has found a new relationship with God and has redoubled his effort to manage the city in a new e-mail made public on Friday.
West confirmed he wrote the e-mail in response to a citizen who sent him a message telling him to resign, pack his luggage, and move to "San Francisco where your lifestyle is accepted."
West said he intended the e-mail as a private communication with a citizen, and did not want it released to the public. " My private life is my private life," he said on Friday.

In Thursday e-mail he wrote: I appreciate your comments, but like King David in the Bible, I will be a better mayor now. I will be more focused and more driven to see this city succeed in all areas. My faith in God, tells me this will be done.

" This episode has done four good things for me so far and more are on the way.
1. I have stopped a behaviour I wanted to stop but couldn't do alone, butdidn't know how to ask for help to end. Now I am sleeping better and am more focused on important things, like my job.
2. The early stress took away my appetite, and I lost 10 pounds. Now I am exercising and watching what I eat. I have lost 5 more punds and hope to lose another 10. I feel better and healthier than I have in years.
3. Friends I haven't heard from in years, including former Boy Scouts, have called to wish me well and encourage me. Several friends attributed their current success to guidance and advice I had given them at a critical point in their life. I have learned I have many new friends as well. It's nice to hear this before you are laying in a coffin at your own funeral.
4. I have decided to try to fill the emptiness in my life that I was trying to fill through other means with a relationship with God. I am reading a proverb and three psalms a day and am attending church on a regular basis for the first time in my life, and it's been wonderful, and I have felt very welcomed. I also meet weekly with a few Pastors and they are very supportive.
I am also leading the senior staff of the City of Spokane to new heights and demanding results on a fast track. I don't know how many more days the voters of Spokane will give me as the mayor, so I have alot to get done in avery short period of time.
Again, thank you for your concern. God has forgiven me and that's all I need."

Signed, James E. West Mayor, City of Spokane.

Why could you not see this coming a mile away???
To bad the pathetic moron won't be at our gay pride parade and festival today. For it would truly be a scene and I am sure he knows it, if he were to show up.

[ June 11, 2005, 06:47 AM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

His "home cure" for homosexuality sounds like a Dale Carnegie course run (over) by Southern Baptists.

"I recommend a few weeks at Cascades."

Yesterday I attended Spokane's gay pride event downtown at Riverfront Park.From what the paper here reported yesterday was the largest crowd ever! Way to go Spokane.I didn't hear of any problems of any kind. It was also our first motorized parade that winded its way through downtown, which unfortunately I missed. Too bad West was a no show. He was probably busy talking to his pastor, about his new life. Whatever! The latest campaign here by local groups is to get the gay people here visible, as its estimated there could be as many as 40,000 gay people in the greater Spokane region. In addition, I also understand where land is being bought to establish the so called "gay district" that the national and international media got all frothy over a few months back.

[ June 12, 2005, 05:41 PM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

Please don't laugh too hard at my questions:

1) Did the Mayor issue a proclamation in honor of the pride festival?

2) What about the city council issuing such a proclamation?

3) Did any politicians show up and express support for the local gay community?

Thanks for the report back on the pride event. Frankly, I love reading about personal experiences at the mid to small sized gay prides.

[ June 12, 2005, 03:08 PM: Message edited by: MPetrelis ]

Hey M;
In answer to your qeustions:
#1-Are you kidding? Not even comments, but then I wouldn't expect any from the self hater.
#2-Not that I am aware of, although it would have been nice.
#3- I couldn't answer because I wasn't there for the whole time, but not that I am aware of. Generally speaking our celebration here isn't usually as political as say Seattle's, with their much larger gay pride. Ours center more on celebrations, pride, and being visible. It would have been nice though, now that I think about it if our only openly gay councilman from a few years back would have showed up, and/or at least spoke.

[ June 12, 2005, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

...I think I'm going to puke.

In a way it's sort of funny.

What you see is a microcosm of how the religious right is manipulated into thinking that certain candidates are holy or in tune with God and therefore deserving of their votes despite all facts to the contrary.

This is truly a microcosm (albeit in a very inept manner) of how events are allowed to go unpunished. Guckert was a gay male whore but forgiven as a WH reporter. How a coke snorting W is seen as "Man of God" etc etc.

A Franklin County judge ruled this afternoon that a Spokane woman can move forward with her recall effort. She now needs to get about 7,000 signatures, I think, to get put on a ballot for the voters.