I am just your average mother whose son is the light of her life. I had no idea of the trials and tribulation that would come from starting a recall effort against Mayor James West. Making a statement for the children and citizens of the city was all I had in mind.

While teaching my son to respect authority figures, I felt the mayor had let us down. This journey is one my son and I will not soon forget. I have had to learn to do legal research, prepare briefs and present in front of the court. I have had to take a crash course in media. I been exposed to the inside of politics and have had to struggle to understand its complicated nature. I had no idea what my son and I were in for.

After closing my business, I was looking for a purpose. My purpose is clear now. Law school, here I come.

For that I am thankful. I have met hundreds of people who have enriched my life. Some were professional while others were just average like me. All were memorable and the encouragement and support has been wonderful.

The next time a single mother without legal or political experience feels as compelled as I do, the Shannon Sullivan Foundation and I will be the first to stand with her.

I have been compared to Erin Brockovich, which is a huge compliment, but I don’t feel comfortable with the comparison. The notoriety that has come along with this experience has been difficult for me, but I had no choice, so I have simply done my best.

At times I have become so overwhelmed I just turn off my phone and cry. That is when my son comes to me, puts his arms around me and tells me he loves me and it will be all right. He does not understand all the attention this has brought to us. He says, “Mom, all you did was the right thing.”

That is when I pull myself together and realize the fight must continue. I want to teach him to follow through and I know that is why I must go on. I am the only example he has to look to.

I look forward to the day when I can start school myself and my son and I can relax and enjoy doing homework together. I look forward to the day when life will return to normal.

In the meantime, thank God we live in America, where the system is for the people, by the people and we can be heard. A country where we don’t all have to agree but we can all have a voice.

That is what this is an opportunity for. If we sit back with apathy, we have no guarantee we will hear the truth. We will hear one side, canned truth, manipulated and garnished for consumption. This process was meant to safeguard the citizens of this nation against corruption and misfeasance.

If we want the face of Spokane to shine brightly throughout the nation, we must exercise that right.

When we voted as a city for our mayor, we did not know about his behavior as 54-year-old man to seek out relationships with young people, barely of age, still in their teens, using his office as an enticement.

The recall petition is a tool to provide Spokane the opportunity to decide, based on the truth about who the real James West is. By his own admission, he was humiliated and embarrassed over his behavior. Has he thought about the humiliation and embarrassment he has brought to us?

This petition is an opportunity to decide his worthiness to represent us as mayor. If the majority of the people still want West as mayor, then the people will have that choice based on who he really is. I have to wonder what he is afraid of. That question begs an answer.

Spokane will be forever changed, but I think it will be a positive change in the long run. I think the overall lesson is that change can have a small starting point and that if we citizens believe in something, we can be an empowered community with a voice to effect our own direction.