Mayoral recall: For

The ballot charge

The ballot synopsis deals with contacts Mayor Jim West had over a computer with a person he believed to be a high school senior who said he was 17 when they first made contact and who turned 18 during those online conversations. That person, whom West knew as “Moto-Brock,” was a forensic computer expert hired by The Spokesman-Review to verify the allegations of a real 19-year-old Spokane man who told the newspaper on the condition of anonymity that he was contacted online by, and had sex with, a person who claimed to be West.

During most of his online conversations with Moto-Brock, West used the Internet screen names “rightbi-guy” and “jmselton.” Transcripts captured by the computer expert show that West discussed explicit sexual matters with Moto-Brock, and offered to arrange an internship by contacting “a friend” at City Hall. Eventually he revealed he was the mayor.

The ballot charge was originally proposed by recall sponsor Shannon Sullivan, but was rewritten extensively, with many of the details added, by Superior Court Judge Craig Matheson, who reviewed the recall petition and heard West’s challenge of it. Matheson’s redrafting of the charge was upheld by the state Supreme Court when West appealed.

Other allegations

In its initial stories, the newspaper also reported allegations from two Spokane men who said that West sexually molested them more than 25 years ago, when he was a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy and a Boy Scout leader, allegations he denied repeatedly.

After the initial stories were published in May, the newspaper was contacted by other young men who said they were offered gifts or jobs by West in exchange for sex. One, Ryan Oelrich, said he was appointed to the city Human Rights Commission last year after he’d met someone in an Internet chat room who used the screen names West used. Oelrich said he later rebuffed sexually explicit online advances from West, declined an offer of $300 to swim naked with him and eventually quit the commission. Another man said he also met West on Gay.com, and was offered city jobs for which he wasn’t qualified.

The FBI is investigating whether West’s activity violates public corruption laws. Although the agency does not comment on ongoing investigations, it has seized computers in West’s office and his home.

The City Council also has hired an investigator to determine whether West’s use of his publicly owned computer violates city policies.

State of the city

When allegations about West were first reported, business leaders initially said they would not discuss his private life and hoped the community would “move forward.” In late May, however, the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau called for his resignation. Chamber President Rich Hadley said at the time that the board’s vote for resignation was nearly unanimous and the pro-Spokane message was being “diluted.” “We can’t afford to be answering questions instead of advocating for the community,” Hadley said.

City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers, a critic of West’s actions, also has accused West of taking more than his share of credit for things that depended on the work of many people, such as the street bond issue that was approved by voters. West’s solution to the River Park Square problem was an expensive series of settlements, she added.

While the city has made major road improvements with that bond issue, its ongoing budget problems remain, and last week voters agreed to a two-year tax increase to maintain existing services and to help cover an expected shortfall of at least $6 million.

Newspaper coverage

The newspaper coverage has never said that West has been charged with a crime, but instead reported serious allegations about a long-time public official after employing an outside expert to help confirm reports it could not corroborate on its own. On its editorial page, The Spokesman-Review supported West in many of his past political campaigns, including his run for mayor in 2003. In recent months, it has called for him to resign.

But the news coverage and the editorial stances are separate on this and all other stories.

While West is correct that he has not been charged with any crime, there are two separate investigations under way. The city’s investigation was delayed in part by West’s challenge to the hired investigator obtaining copies of his computer files. The files were eventually released to the investigator under a protective order, but West’s attorneys continue to fight their public release, contending they contain photos and correspondence “highly offensive to a reasonable person.”

State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Chambers, in writing the main opinion that turned down West’s appeal, said the recall itself is part of West’s due process: “It is the voters, not the courts, who will ultimately act as the fact finders.”