West fights to retain his computer files

Spokane Mayor Jim West will fight the city’s announced release next Tuesday of the files on his city-owned computer, which he says in a sworn affidavit contain “highly offensive” private material that the public shouldn’t see.

Mark Busto, the Bellevue, Wash., attorney hired by the Spokane City Council to investigate West’s workplace conduct, requested the files this week. The city attorney’s office had notified West it intended to release all of his computer files to Busto on Sept. 27.

In a statement late Wednesday, West’s attorney Bill Etter said he’ll seek a hearing in Spokane County Superior Court.

“We will seek a determination from the court as to whether any materials on the Mayor’s City-provided computer are subject to the Public Records Act prior to release of these materials by the City to any person or party,” Etter said in a statement.

“We believe neither Mr. Busto nor the City Council has the authority to circumvent this determination,” Etter added.

Whether or not the West files are deemed to be public records, it’s the council’s position that Busto is entitled to examine them as part of his internal investigation of West’s workplace conduct, said City Council President Dennis Hession.

The Spokesman-Review has been seeking the same files and a cloned copy of West’s computer hard drive since May 6, the date the newspaper filed a Public Records Act request.

In a series of stories starting May 5, The Spokesman-Review reported that West sought to date young men he met on a gay Web site, offering gifts, trips and a City Hall internship. As part of the FBI’s ensuing public corruption investigation, four young men have told agency investigators West offered them City Hall jobs and appointments in exchange for sex.

West has admitted dating adult men, but has denied any wrongful conduct at City Hall.

The city was preparing to release copies of West’s computer files – the same files Busto is now seeking – to the newspaper last month when West’s attorneys filed court papers in opposition.

The public records battle has been assigned to visiting Superior Court Judge Richard Miller, from Adams County. No hearing date has been set, but one could be scheduled within the next few weeks.