Jim West,
55, the former mayor of Spokane, Washington, who was
recalled from office in 2005 because of an Internet gay-sex
scandal, died Saturday. The cause was complications
from recent cancer surgery, the Associated Press reports.
The conservative Republican had a 27-year career
in city and state politics in Washington, which ended
after The Spokesman-Review newspaper published
an investigation revealing West had sexual
conversations online with men, including one he thought
was 18 years old, whom he offered to get an internship
at City Hall for. West had also consistently
opposed gay-rights bills during his 20 years in the
state House and Senate.
He was diagnosed in 2003 with colon cancer,
which later spread to his liver. He died at the
University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle
with his family and pastor by his side, according to the AP.
(The Advocate)
