Spokane Hasn’t Heard Last of West
Even as he prepared to leave office after being recalled, Mayor James E. West sought Wednesday to burnish his legacy and shape the city’s future.
West told reporters he intended to stay involved in some fashion “in making sure this community moves forward” after his long political career ends and he leaves office Dec. 16.
West, 54, was recalled from office Tuesday night by about a 2-1 margin on an abuse-of-office charge. It was seven months after the Spokesman-Review newspaper began publishing articles detailing his trolling of gay Internet chat rooms.
City Council President Dennis Hession will become mayor pro tem, and has said he will seek to be appointed to serve the remaining two years of West’s term. “I’m prepared to manage the transition from this administration to the next,” Hession said while announcing the appointment of a transition team.
West, asked what he would do next, replied: “I will stay comfortably in my home as a private citizen. I’ll be looking for work.”
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