6Th District Opponents Focus On West’S Behavior Democrats Johnson And Personett Cite Cases Of Incumbent’S Anger

While the nation debates misbehavior in high office, ethics has emerged as a big issue in the 6th District Senate race.

Keith Johnson, a Democratic challenger to Sen. Jim West, R-Spokane, has turned the incumbent’s behavior into his primary campaign plank.

“People are disgusted by bad behavior in public office,” said Johnson. “The best example of bad behavior in public office in Washington state is Jim West.”

Johnson and his Democratic opponent, Judy Personett, cite two cases of West’s explosive anger: against former state Sen. John Moyer and, last winter, against a construction lobbyist. Misdemeanor charges are pending in the second incident.

The Democrats also echo each other’s criticism of West for ignoring the 6th District while approving big-ticket Seattle projects.

“In his tenure as senator, he has not brought our tax dollars back to Spokane to work for us,” said Personett.

“It’s clear Sen. West’s positions are mightily influenced by the PAC money he receives from organizations like insurance companies,” said Johnson.

West said his record is being misrepresented by his rivals. He exchanged his support for the Seahawks stadium for a pledge the team would keep its training camp in Cheney, he said.

“They get up and lie about my record; I get up and tell the truth about my record,” said West.

Johnson, 58, and Personett, 57, agree on other issues. Both support the minimum-wage hike ballot initiative and oppose an initiative banning late-term abortions.

But they come to their views from different backgrounds.

Johnson, a Spokane native, left the area after graduating from the University of Idaho. He went to Mexico to make independent movies and taught briefly at the University of the Americas, a private bilingual school in Mexico City.

While there, Johnson said the CIA recruited him to be an intelligence officer. He was stationed overseas from 1969 until he retired in 1994, he said.

He tracked Cold War Soviet activity in Yugoslavia, Southeast Asia and Spain. Fluent in Spanish, he worked on counterterrorism operations prior to the world exposition in Seville and the Barcelona Summer Olympics, he said.

He said he was also a trade representative for the U.S. State Department and worked undercover, but declines to provide specifics.

“I can’t get into operating procedures,” he said.

Since retiring in 1994, he’s used his international experience as a consultant to several Spokane companies.

He takes populist stands on issues like campaign finance reform.

“The big danger, it seems to me, is when professional politicians want to stay in politics and climb the ladder,” said Johnson, who’s accepted money from labor unions and the state Democratic Party.

“When that happens, they start collecting PAC money at a furious pace, and the PAC money compromises their beliefs.”

Personett had a career as a registered nurse, much of it for the Veterans Administration serving as a nursing director.

She moved to Nine Mile Falls from Los Angeles after retiring in 1994. Barred from active politicking while a federal employee, Personett quickly joined several Democratic organizations.

Her volunteer resume lists stints on several Spokane County boards, including the United Way’s allocation committee.

She also served on the state party’s elections subcommittee. Despite the service, the party has given money to Johnson, not her.

“I’m broke, I need money” for the campaign, she said, adding: “My support comes from the people that vote, not the party.”

If elected, she pledges to use her nursing experience to expand patient choice of physicians.

See individual profiles by name of candidate.

This sidebar appeared with the story: JOB DESCRIPTION State senators are paid $28,300 annually and serve four-year terms. The 6th District runs from Moran Prairie on its southeast border to Nine Mile Falls on its northwest border, and includes parts of Airway Heights and Five Mile Prairie.