Recall of Spokane
mayor is headed to ballot December 6

Organizers of a drive to recall of Spokane, Wash., mayor Jim West in because of a City Hall sex scandal have collected enough signatures to send the issue to a special election in December, Spokane County elections supervisor Paul Brandt says. County elections workers stopped checking names and addresses on petitions Thursday after counting 12,684 signatures, 117 more than needed to send the issue to a December 6 special election, Brandt said. The city of Spokane will pay the estimated $140,000-$160,000 cost of the special election, county auditor Vicky Dalton said. West is accused of using his office to set up dates with young men. He has acknowledged having relationships with young men but has denied doing anything illegal. West told the Associated Press the results were not unexpected, and he plans to prepare a campaign to fight the recall, noting the progress the city has made under his leadership. "I look forward to the election December 6," he said. "It's just like any other election." Rita Amunrud, chairwoman of the pro-recall Citizens for Accountability in Government, said the only progress she's seen is more people living in poverty because of increased property and city utility taxes. "It's going push up the poverty level...and if he calls that progress, it's only by virtue of the fact he can afford to pay a young man $300 to go swimming," she said, referring to a gay man's contention that West offered him the money to swim naked with him. Signature gatherers turned in 17,434 names on recall petitions, and about 20% were not accepted, Brandt said. West, 55, is accused of misusing his office by seeking dates from young men over a gay Web site and offering them gifts, trips, and City Hall positions. The FBI is pursuing a public corruption investigation. No criminal charges have been filed. West's troubles began in May, when the Spokane newspaper The Spokesman-Review began publishing articles implicating the former Republican state legislator and sheriff's deputy in child sexual abuse in the 1970s. The articles also said he cruised a gay Web site for dates with young men. West has denied any involvement in child sexual abuse. The campaign to gather signatures on recall petitions was led by Shannon Sullivan, an unemployed single mother who successfully argued her cause before the state supreme court in August after West's lawyers appealed the ballot language. State Public Disclosure Commission reports show that the campaign so far has been a grassroots affair. The Committee for Spokane's Progress political action committee, which supports West, reported the mayor has spent about $85,000, mostly in lawyer fees, but has received $1,150 in campaign contributions. The pro-recall PAC, called the Recall Signature Team, raised and spent about $3,500 in cash and had about $21,600 in donated legal work. On another front, West's lawyers are seeking to block public release of the contents of his office computer hard drive. A hearing has been scheduled for October 12 before Judge Richard Miller in Adams County superior court. (AP)