Information AboutJames E. West |
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James Elton West, best known as '''Jim West''', is the former Mayor of Spokane, Washington . He was recalled during a special election held on December 6, 2005. On December 16, 2005, the day the votes were officially certified, he was officially stripped of his duties as mayor. West is a native Spokanite. West served in the U.S. Army after high school and graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in Criminal Justice in 1978 . In 1982 West joined the Washington Legislature as a Republican and served until 2003 , when he became mayor of Spokane. While in the legislature he served as Senate Majority Leader . While in the legislature, West voted in favor of many anti-gay bills, including one that would have banned gays and lesbians from working in schools and day cares. While in the state legislature, he also proposed to make a law that would ban all sexual activity among persons under the age of 18 (the bill failed). In 1995 , when West was a state senator, he advocated the Impeachment of then-Gov. Mike Lowry for alleged Sexual Harassment . West was diagnosed with Colon Cancer in 2003 and has had multiple surgeries since then, while the cancer has spread to his Liver . {Link without Title} SEXUAL SCANDAL West was involved in a sexual scandal in s to young gay men (some of whom were just graduating from High School ). Calls for his resignation spread. West defended himself in a 2005, the FBI searched West's home and seized his personal computers as part of its public corruption investigation. Shannon Sullivan, a Spokane citizen with no prior legal experience, filed a Recall petition. A Superior Court Justice threw out two counts on the petition and upheld one. Mayor West then appealed that ruling to the State Supreme Court. On August 24 , 2005 , the State Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sullivan, allowing the recall to go forward. Because the State Supreme Court heard and ruled on this case in an emergency session during their summer recess, they did not file and publish a full opinion following their ruling. Recall organizers collected over 17,000 signatures and submitted them to the elections office on September 21 , 2005 . The elections office determined that more than 12,567 of those signatures are valid, so a special mail-in election was held on December 6 , 2005 , to determine whether Mayor Jim West is to remain in office. West was recalled by voters with 65% in favor of ousting him to 35% in favor of keeping him as mayor, with his term ending December 16 , 2005 , the day the final votes were certified by the Spokane County Auditor's office. The ouster of West also marks the first time in the history of the city of Spokane that a sitting mayor has been voted out of office. His duties were turned over to then-city council president Dennis P. Hession on December 16 , 2005 , who will serve as mayor for the remainder of West's term.
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