Mayor resisting calls to resign (Spokane pervert Jim West)

[skooooo]

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/jimwest/story.asp?ID=051405_west_business

Mayor Jim West is privately being urged to resign by some of his most important political allies – leaders of the Spokane business community who fear ongoing damage to economic development efforts because of the sex scandal enveloping the mayor.

West so far has resisted the entreaties and continues to believe he can ride out the controversy, according to a variety of sources – including some who talked off the record – familiar with the discussions and West's activities in recent days.

Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers, who has called for West to resign, said business leaders are searching for "an exit strategy."

West announced Monday he was taking a leave, but not resigning, in the wake of allegations by two men that West molested them when they were boys in the 1970s – allegations West denies – and that the mayor sought dates with young men he met on Gay.com, offering them jobs, gifts and favors.

[merwin]

1. He should be publically urged to resign by EVERYONE. This is

ridiculous

[MrModerate]

2. I'm sorry, but pervert is (as far as I can tell) the wrong label

Who knows what the real truth is, but from what we know now, West's offense is not that he pursued young persons, hoping to convince them to have sex with him -- heterosexuals and homosexuals alike do that, and no one has a word to say -- but that he corruptly offered them favors that were his to give because of his official position, in return for their, well . . . favors.

He's a CORRUPT POLITICIAN. Until there's something like proof that he was attempting the above with underage persons, let's keep the "pervert" label off the table, shall we?

[Misunderestimator]

3. Well, yes, except for the two men who were boys when they said he

molested them. I agree with the rest of what you said, if that turns out not to be true.

[MrModerate]

4. I'll even give pubbies the benefit of the doubt . . .

When folks start saying "he buggered me 20 years ago." Too many of those sorts of accusations turn out to be untrue for me to buy 'em at first blush.

[skooooo]

10. Well..perhaps..but in my book...

...talking online to someone who you think is 17 on gay.com is crossing the line, and there is proof of that.

[stevedeshazer]

11. Agree

That's the issue.

Doesn't matter if it was straight.com, he was trying to lure minors for sexual activity.

The whole "gay" angle is, frankly, a big sideshow, and West himself is trying to hide behind what he says is "a big outing" when most people don't give a damn about his sexual orientation.

Imagine your child of ANY gender being lured by the promise of a job in exchange for sexual favors, and I'd bet every responsible parent in America would be pissed off, as I am.

[skooooo]

15. Oh of course...

...it has nothing to do with being gay. Of course, go to freeperville, and they can't get past it.

This is about allegations of child sexual abuse. If you read the WHOLE story (or whole account), you find out that one of Jim's good friends (sorry can't remember name now) committed suicide over pedophilia allegations. Both of these men were active in supervising boy scouts, the same troop and everything. A few of the boys mention both of them being aware of what was going on.

The other serious thing is abuse of power. Perhaps the statute of limitations has run out for seriously investigating things that may have happened in the 70s.

[stevedeshazer]

16. That's how our ex-mayor got off

Statute of limitations.

Yeah, it's the abuse of power. :hi:

[formernaderite]

17. I don't t think his contact with a 17 year old should be considered

predatory. My brothers current partner, was charged with child sexual abuse some 15 years back. He was 25 and involved with a 17 year old. This is pretty typical in the gay community, older guy/younger guy. For one thing, it's often hard for gay teens to date within their high school. It is much easier for a gay teen to meet an openly gay adult than an openly gay teen. It is also usually the case that these older guys are NOT out there laying in wait for the teens, rather the teens are actively looking for an experienced adult.
Regardless of how the rest of us feel about ths, there is still a stigma to being gay, and it wouldn't be surprising for a teen to recant a relationship and call it coercion just to protect themselves from being stigmatized socially.

[skooooo]

19. Well in this situation...

..the "17-year-old" was a computer forensic professional who was posing. ANd I'm sorry, if someone's under 18, it's illegal, regardless of any cultural norms or consideration.

[jsw_81]

14. He was going after fifteen year old boys

He's a frigging pervert.

[Toots]

18. I think hypocrite would fit well here as well

How can the man be trusted when he says one thing and does another. He is not trustworthy and that is enough to ask him to resign or flat out fire his ass but not for having sex with another human.

[MADem]

20. No, he PERVERTED the course of government by offering jobs

in exchange for sexual favors. Had he offered the jobs in exchange for someone fixing up his summerhouse, like the former Governor of CT did, that would also be a perversion. While the word is often and easily used to talk about S-E-X, that is not its only use.

Definitions of pervert on the Web:

corrupt: corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality; "debauch the young people with wine and women"; "Socrates was accused of corrupting young men"; "Do school counselors subvert young children?"; "corrupt the morals"
twist: practice sophistry; change the meaning of or be vague about in order to mislead or deceive
a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior
change the inherent purpose or function of something; "Don't abuse the system"; "The director of the factory misused the funds intended for the health care of his workers"
www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn

[Demit]

5. haha! He'll ride out the controversy. Must be a top.

[Jade Fox]

6. His career in politics is gone....

He'd be doing himself a favor to get out now, and avoid being asked to
leave. What kind of arrogance imagines he could survive this little debacle?

Personally, I hope he doesn't resign. He's such a stellar example of Right
Wing hypocrisy.

[berni_mccoy]

7. Let him get impeached then.

[stevedeshazer]

8. He's hurting Spokane

That's why he should resign!

He's made Spokane the laughingstock of the nation.

Why would you want to relocate a business there?

How can you promote education there, even though it's in part a college town?

The longer West hangs on, the worse the Spokane community looks. My friends in Spokane deserve better. It's a good city at its core, and needs to get rid of West and move on.

[Solly Mack]

9. My MIL lives in Spokane.

She said people were "hot" for him to resign. That it's the "talk" among her Red Hat Society members, who are very upset that he refuses to resign.

I'm just saying...when blue haired women in red hats and purple dresses are chomping at the bit, it's bad.

[Karenina]

12. Hey Solly!

Did you see the dust-up Friday when a CDU Minister in Bremen uncorked a bottle of champagne over a homeless man's head? His IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION was accepted. What is WRONG wid our folks ;-)??? :shrug:

[Solly Mack]

13. Hey you! What's wrong with our folks? Got a several hours? : O)