West writes textbook on bad publicity
Jim West is history.
And because Mayor McSleaze is featured on one page of a new Washington state history text, Spokane Public Schools might not purchase it for seventh-grade classrooms, The Spokesman-Review’s Rob McDonald reports.
District officials worry that even the tame biography of West – written before his abuse-of-office scandal stung the city like a wet towel snapped in the boys’ locker room – will raise too many uncomfortable questions in the classroom. After all, how is a poor teacher supposed to answer queries like, “Why did we all have to carry pepper spray during our City Hall field trip?”
The bio is titled, “A big city mayor has a very big job.” And if you IM him, he’ll tell you exactly how big it is. (OK, pointing out that unintentional double entendre might not be fair in a week when the S-R ran a story headlined, “Council takes over probe of West.”)
Now-ironic passages in the history book include a recitation of West’s “goals for an open, responsive and accountable government” and his prescient observation that he’d better work quickly because Spokane hasn’t reelected a mayor since 1973.
But I think the school district should consider buying the book now. I recently received a copy of the upcoming second edition, with an updated West section. Think of the difficult conversations this will inspire among middle-schoolers:
A big city mayor has a selfish secret life
In his private life, Spokane Mayor Jim West knew more monsters than Dr. Frankenstein. But although he was close with known child molesters (vocabulary word: pedophiles), and two men accused him of sexually abusing them as boys, West denied engaging in such behavior. Eyewitnesses say he used to pull down the pants of little kids at a Boy Scout camp (vocabulary word: creepy).
As a state legislator, West supported a bill to bar gay people from teaching in public schools, even though he was secretly gay (vocabulary word: hypocrisy). He later blamed his actions on the supposedly intolerant voters of his district (study concepts: leadership, pandering).
After becoming mayor, West appointed one young man to a commission and then allegedly offered him money to swim naked. Other young citizens reported improper sexual advances from West as well. Such accusations spurred a drive to remove the mayor from office. But after saying he would accept the will of the voters, West fought the recall process all the way to the state Supreme Court (vocabulary word: two-faced).
The city launched a failed investigation into West’s actions and refused to release some of the e-mails the mayor sent from his official account – even though they are all public records (vocabulary word: illegal). As this passage is being written, three months after the scandal broke, the City Council is just now seeking recommendations for someone to head up its own West investigation (vocabulary phrase: futzing around).
Meanwhile, the mayor has become an awkward presence at official events while claiming he can continue proudly representing the people of Spokane (vocabulary word: pariah).
Essay topic 1: Describe the nightmares you now have about attending a Spokane-area summer camp.
Essay topic 2: Explore your loss of faith in the community leaders you hoped to look to as role models.
Extra credit: Draft a letter to yourself promising to tell the authorities if an older man ever pulls down your pants, asks you to swim nude or offers sports memorabilia in exchange for a date. Maybe they’ll actually do something to stop him.