Spokane city
council adopts new ethics policy after mayor's ouster

A month after former mayor James E. West was recalled from office for a City Hall gay sex scandal, the Spokane city council adopted a new ethics policy covering top officials. By an unanimous 6-0 vote, with one member absent, the council on Tuesday adopted an 18-page policy that creates an ethics commission covering the mayor and council as well as about three dozen top city employees and members of city boards and commissions. "It's a good document. It's not a perfect document," council president Joe Shogan said after the ordinance passed after weeks of debate. The ordinance is similar to ones already in effect in Seattle, King County, and other several other Washington cities and counties. It prohibits the use of a city position for personal benefit, the conduct that snared West after the Spokane newspaper The Spokesman-Review reported he had offered City Hall jobs and other perks to young men he met in a gay Internet chat room. West was recalled in a special election December 6 for misusing his office. The new ordinance also bans improper use of city property or personnel and prohibits having a personal interest in a contract involving the city or seeking to influence a contract selection while having a personal involvement in a company or person seeking the contract. It requires disclosure of relationships that would benefit from legislation or a contract. Also banned are representing a private person at a city proceeding; holding a private job that is incompatible with public service; disclosing confidential information; and accepting or giving gifts of more than nominal value. The ethics law bars officials or employees who leave their jobs from working in the private sector for one year on matters with which they were directly involved while working for the city. (AP)