Published January 13, 2015
Mayor James E. West (search) said on Tuesday he believes he will survive investigations into allegations that he committed criminal acts by trolling gay chat rooms and offering city jobs to men he met there.
West told NBC's "Today" show that he expects to be exonerated by FBI and city investigations.
"The e-mails that are coming to me are in my favor not to resign. Stand your ground," West said. "They say, `If the allegations are true, you ought to go.' Well, they are not true."
The Spokesman-Review has reported allegations that West molested two boys in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he was a Boy Scout leader, and that he offered gifts, favors and jobs at City Hall to young men he met online.
The mayor has denied those allegations but acknowledged having relations with adult men.
The former GOP majority leader in the state Senate said on Tuesday that he was not being hypocritical when he opposed gay-friendly bills.
"I voted to represent my legislative district in the Legislature. I was not an advocate," West said. "I was not a leader of the charge in any of those cases. Every representative and every senator from my district voted the way I voted."
The Spokane City Council scheduled a vote Tuesday night on a resolution asking West to resign. The vote is advisory and West can only be removed from office by recall. A group of residents have begun circulating a recall petition.
West has said he intends to serve the remaining 2 1/2 years of his term in this city of 200,000 people.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/spokane-council-to-vote-on-mayors-future