Recall Jim West

Politicians are liars. And politicians are cynics. It’s cliché. And judging by the successes that certain prominent politicians have enjoyed just during my lifetime, the unavoidable conclusion one must draw is that we, the voters, have come to expect that only cynical liars will pursue a career in politics. It’s the sort of job one takes up after failing to uphold the ethical standards of a used car salesman, or a televangelist. But surely there is a limit to how much dishonesty and cynicism citizens should have to tolerate. Jimmy Swaggart’s video congregation eventually grew weary of his betrayals and changed channels. And after a while James Bakker could not even keep Tammy Faye around. The stakes are considerably higher when a man holds genuine power, and cannot be dismissed with the click of a television’s remote control. Surely Spokane should have some recourse for getting shed of its mayor other than waiting for his term of office to expire.
Spokane Mayor Jim West has shown himself to be a skunk of epochal proportions. As a politician he thundered against homosexuals. In his private life, he immersed himself in gay sex. Always quick to point the bony finger of indignation at others, he used his position to procure boyfriends.
Even if it is never proven that Spokane mayor Jim West broke the law, he must go. Even if it is ultimately proven that he did not break the law, he must go. One should not have to break the law to lose the privilege of occupying a political office.
What Jim West has admitted to is quite enough for him to be sent packing in shame. While living a dissolute life, he conducted a strident public campaign against the very lifestyle he lead. He used the powers, prestige, and even the treasury of his office to lure sex partners.
But most of all, he treated Spokane voters with the ultimate disrespect. He assumed that they were knuckle dragging, red-necked rubes and tailored his political message so as to pander to their presumed prejudices. Could he have been successful without campaigning so vociferously against gay rights and AIDS prevention programs? I like to think so. I don’t like to think that majorities are won by bigotry.
Almost a decade ago, a whistleblower exposed a cynical dishonest president who was using his office to solicit sexual favors from a naïve, immature intern. He and his party successfully argued that “high crimes and misdemeanors” was a standard that required felonious conduct. That was an historical and logical error. To be guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors one only had to conduct one’s self in a manner that falls short of the dignity of the office.
Living a double life is not a felony or even a misdemeanor. Lying, with no aggravating circumstances, is not criminal. One will not find cynicism in any criminal code. Indeed, cynicism is probably a constitutionally protected right. But this is not yet about pursuing criminal charges. Voters are entitled to hold their elected officials to any standard they wish. And if they decide that they and their city deserves more respect than they have received from Jim West throughout his public life, then they should send him on his way through a recall if he fails to show them the respect he has so far denied them by clinging to his office. It’s about excising a festering cyst from Spokane’s backside. It’s about restoring decorum to an office that has been besmirched.
The Washington state and Spokane County Republican Party have asked West to resign. The Spokane City Council has asked him to place the city before his selfish tenacity and step aside. The Spokane Spokesman-Review has asked for his resignation. And now, a citizens’ recall petition has been certified by the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s office and awaits only a judge’s endorsement.
What Jim West hopes to achieve, either personally or politically, is not clear. If he hopes to successfully refute the charges, he can do that without making it the city’s business. He is clearly doomed and could save himself and his city embarrassment by leaving.
He continues to deny a few, specific charges. But fighting the narrow substance of those charges against will never remove the stain of his greatest sin - cynicism on a scale that will give cynics a bad name.