Tacticians give West their advice

OLYMPIA – Imagine for a moment that you’re Spokane Mayor Jim West. A middle-aged career politician battling cancer, you’ve been accused of child molestation. Several young men have said you offered them city positions after meeting them in a gay online chat room. And the FBI has seized computers from your bedroom.

Now, with polls suggesting that well over half the city’s residents want you out of office, you face the prospect of a recall vote later this year.

What do you do?

We put that question to several veteran political consultants and observers from across the state. Most said that if his critics get the matter on the ballot, West has little hope of staying mayor. But some also said that by touting his strengths and attacking The Spokesman-Review and other critics, West could at least improve his odds.

“I think if the vote was held today, the vote would be closer than people think,” said Doug Simpson, a conservative campaign consultant who lives near Colville. “The most common comment that I hear from people in Spokane is that that was a trial without a jury, what the Spokesman did to Jim West … I think West should play to that.”

In polls in late June, KXLY and the Inlander found that 61 percent of residents believed that West should step down. An earlier poll by KHQ found that 67 percent want him gone.

“If there is a recall election, he’s going to have to emphasize – to the degree he can – that he didn’t break any laws or violate any city policies, if that’s the case,” said David Nice, a political science professor at Washington State University. “And one important thing for him is that there not be further revelations.”

History doesn’t give a lot of guidance in this case, Nice said. President Richard Nixon repeatedly denied involvement in the Watergate scandal, which worked until tape recordings emerged showing that he was lying. President Bill Clinton tried to stare down his critics while rallying his base – and kept his office.

“But it seems like a lot of Jim’s base has already asked him to step down,” said political strategist Brett Bader.

In May, The Spokesman-Review reported that two men accused West of molesting them as boys in the 1970s when he was a deputy sheriff. Several other men have come forward and told The Spokesman-Review and the FBI that West, who has been mayor for less than two years, offered them City Hall jobs or appointments after meeting them in an online gay Web site. West, 53 at the time, also chatted sexually online with a person he believed to be an 18-year-old Spokane high school student. The “student” was actually a computer expert hired by the newspaper to confirm a similar story by a real Spokane 18-year-old.

West has adamantly denied molesting anyone or misusing his position, although he apologized publicly for bringing shame on the mayor’s office.

“Yes, I exercised poor judgment and made mistakes in my personal life, but nothing illegal and nothing unethical,” he wrote in a Spokesman-Review column June 28.

West is now fighting a request by the newspaper for a copy of the hard drive on his city-issued computer. In a court affidavit filed on Thursday, West acknowledged using the machine for personal use – albeit after business hours – and that the machine includes information about his “personal social contacts.”

The FBI, as part of an investigation into possible public corruption, also recently seized several computers from West’s bedroom.

“Jim West is a remarkably resilient politician, but I’m not sure even he can withstand this,” said Christian Sinderman, a Seattle campaign consultant who works primarily for Democrats. “I would keep a low profile and just hope the FBI doesn’t find anything on my hard drive.”

Stan Shore, a campaign consultant for Republicans who is reportedly advising West, did not return calls seeking comment.

Here’s some of the advice the experts had for West:

“Tout his strengths: “The one thing that West does have going for him prior to digging himself into this hole is that he was receiving high marks for his performance as mayor,” said Sinderman. West also has good relationships with the city employee unions, he said.

“He knows the city, he knows the people in it, and he’s worked on their behalf in a variety of capacities,” said Nice.

“He should build a case for what he’s accomplished,” said Simpson, “and get the focus off a lot of innuendo and stuff that’s (unsubstantial).”

“Attack his critics, particularly The Spokesman-Review: “I think people just smell assassination there,” said Simpson.

Others weren’t so sure. Some research suggests that it’s effective “to change the subject from you to the bad newspaper or the media elite or something like that,” said Nice. “But that’s risky, because it sometimes is a way to get more negative media coverage, antagonizing the people covering you.”

“It’s one thing to feel beaten up by the press. It’s another to try to blame them for all your problems,” said Sinderman. “West’s wounds are so self-inflicted that it’s hard for him to point to the newspaper as an easy way out.”

“Enlist supporters to speak on his behalf: “I wouldn’t have lawyers do it,” said Nice. “It should be people he knows, people respected in the community.” These emissaries, he said, would have to “really make the case that it’s really not as bad as it sounds.”

“Apologize: “If he did something wrong, he needs to just ‘fess up and say it,” said Simpson. “Americans traditionally are very forgiving if they don’t think you’re trying to pull the wool over their eyes or blow smoke up their skirts.”

“Point out the alternatives: People fighting a recall typically try to show that the change will make things worse, said Bader. They argue that it will throw the city into chaos, for example, and be expensive to change administrations.

“It’s got to be about more than him,” Bader said. “The last thing that you want to look like in this day and era is a politician desperate to hang onto the perks of your office.”