Filing claims mayor can’t block investigator

Spokane Mayor Jim West has no legal basis to prevent a private investigator hired by the City Council from examining the contents of the mayor’s City Hall computer, legal documents filed Monday say.

The mayor’s private attorneys are fighting to block public release of three CDs containing files found on West’s computer when it was seized in early May.

The discs include 1,800 files – half of them photographs – that West doesn’t want the public to see. The photos are believed to be of young gay men and the other files are reportedly sexually explicit correspondence.

West’s attorneys argue that the material on the mayor’s computer would be “highly offensive to a reasonable person.”

Attorney Mark Busto, who was hired by the City Council to investigate the mayor’s actions, and The Spokesman-Review are attempting in separate actions to gain access to West’s computer files.

Assistant City Attorney Milt Rowland has said he is prepared to release the files, but West’s private attorneys are asking a court to intervene and keep them from the public and the private investigator.

A hearing is scheduled Wednesday before visiting Superior Court Judge Richard Miller of Adams County. The judge is expected to examine the mayor’s computer files before ruling.

Before the hearing, Busto and West’s attorneys could reach a private agreement – a protective order – that gives the investigator access to the material but legally binds him to secrecy.

It would then be up to the City Council, when it receives the investigator’s findings, to determine whether the public has a right to see the results of the investigation it funded.

City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers said she is opposed to any such secrecy agreement, and believes the public should have access to the investigative findings and any underlying facts.

City Council President Dennis Hession said Monday the council was not considering any agreement to withhold contents of the mayor’s computer hard drive from public disclosure.

Hession acknowledged the ongoing discussions between the council investigator and the mayor’s attorneys, but said it was not yet a matter before the council.

“City policy makes it clear that all electronic data, including e-mail and electronic storage systems, such as Internet history, stored on city-owned computers may be inspected by the city without prior notice to or permission from employees,” said a legal brief filed by attorney M. Edward Taylor, who represents Busto.

“This court should not enjoin the City of Spokane from disclosing materials to Mr. Busto that are necessary for him to complete his investigation of alleged workplace misconduct by Mayor West,” the legal brief said.

“The mayor has no legal grounds for objecting to information on a city-owned computer being disclosed in connection with an internal investigation,” it added.

Busto was awarded a $15,000 contract by the City Council on Sept. 6 to investigate whether West violated city policies or ethics – a so-called “workplace conduct” investigation. The Council added another $5,000 to the contract on Oct. 3 so Busto, working as an investigator, could be represented by another attorney before Miller.

West is accused of using his government computer to visit gay Web sites and offering some young men he met there City Hall jobs, appointments and gifts.

On Friday, West refused comment when initially asked by e-mail and on the telephone why he doesn’t want the public to see files and pictures on his taxpayer-owned City Hall computer.

Later, however, he sent an e-mail reply, admitting he used his city computer to visit gay Web sites.

“These files were not downloaded by me but were cached when looking at profile pages,” West told the newspaper.

“The files contain images of private individuals who I believe have an expectation of privacy and are not related to my official duties as Mayor,” West said.

The mayor also was asked if he lied or misled the public when he previously said he didn’t use a City Hall computer to visit gay Web sites.

“I did not lie nor did I intend to mislead the public,” he responded.

West said there “may have been a misunderstanding” when he previously was asked about use of his city computer.

“You asked if I had done it on my own time, in my own home on my own computer. I said ‘yes,’ ” West responded.

“When I traveled out of town, I took my city computer and was told I could use it for personal business on my own time and considered it my personal computer,” West said.

“I’ve told the press and the public that I visited gay Web sites, said it was inappropriate, I apologized for it at the time and I haven’t done it since,” he said.

“I was upfront about this from the very beginning,” West said. “I’ve never gone to inappropriate Web sites in my City Hall office, never on city time, only on my personal, private time.”

The council hired its own investigator after members of a special investigative panel, appointed by the city attorney, resigned before holding their second meeting.