West has to face certain questions

The Spokesman-Review ran a lengthy statement by Spokane Mayor James West on Tuesday’s op-ed page. It was the second extended commentary by him to appear on these opinion pages since May 5, the day news stories broke about his online sexual communication with a person he thought was a 17-year-old high school student.

After a prolonged silence, West has begun to speak out publicly about the disclosures that have led to a recall effort against him. As mayor, he commands an expansive forum, but the questions he’s answering are mostly questions he has framed for himself. Fair enough, but his constituents and The Spokesman-Review’s readers deserve more than that. They have a right to hear him answer questions that he’s avoided and explain some of the claims asserted in controlled statements such as Tuesday’s column.

Questions such as these:

“You have said on several occasions that you are embarrassed and ashamed because of poor judgment, and you have apologized to the community and asked forgiveness. Yet you have said you’ve done nothing illegal or unethical and have not abused the public trust in any way. What specifically, then, causes you shame and embarrassment? What should people forgive?

“At your one press conference since May 5, you declined to answer a question that is central to the present issue, so here it is again: Is it appropriate – “appropriate,” not “legal” – for a 54-year-old man who enjoys substantial influence and power in the community to seek sexual intimacy with a teenager, a high school student? Do you think voters would have elected you if they had known about the practices you’ve acknowledged?

“You’ve said that you’ll respect the people’s wishes if they want you to go. Why, then, with polls showing 60 percent or more of the citizens think you should resign, did you appeal a judge’s decision that would have let the recall process move forward?

“In Tuesday’s column, you said the forensic computer expert who posed as a 17-year-old known to you as Moto-Brock, tried to “lure” you into a sexual relationship. Since the transcript of commentary from the Gay.com chat room shows you made the first contact and were the first to raise sexual issues, what was the conduct or behavior that constituted “luring”?

“Have the past nearly two months caused you to change your mind about some of the anti-gay-rights stands you have taken as a public official, such as the measure you supported in the Legislature to bar gay men and lesbians from working in schools, day-care centers and some state agencies?

“In your statement on Tuesday you spoke of wanting to come up with a “more accurate ballot statement to put before the voters for a fair recall election.” Since you say you’ve done nothing to justify being removed from office, what would an acceptable ballot statement say?

“By most accounts, you’ve done a commendable job as a municipal leader. As a matter of principle, should voters let their satisfaction with your political effectiveness override their concerns about immoral conduct if they believe it occurred? If this were about someone else, would you?

“Ryan Oelrich, whom you met online and appointed to the Spokane Human Rights Commission before disclosing your identity, says you subjected him over the next several months to a series of unwanted sexual advances. He offers online conversation transcripts to support his account. How do you reconcile that with your insistence that you have not used your office to advance personal objectives?

“If the recall measure fails to reach the ballot, or it goes to a vote and you prevail, will you seek a second term as mayor?

Those questions are among concerns that community members have expressed in letters to the editor and other forums. As one who for two decades of public service has professed a strong personal accountability to the people, West should respond.