More on Republican, Spokane Mayor and former State Senate Majority Leader Jim West from The Spokane Spokesman-Review, today (free reg. req.):
High-salaried City Hall jobs and a position on a city policy-making board were offered to two young men after they met Mayor Jim West in an Internet chat room, both men told The Spokesman-Review on Monday.Ryan M. Oelrich, a 24-year-old openly gay man, said he accepted West’s appointment to the city’s Human Rights Commission after meeting West online at Gay.com. He said West used the screen aliases “Cobra82nd” and “RightBi-Guy.”
After appointing Oelrich to the policy-making Human Rights Commission, West "offered me $300 cash if I’d swim naked with him in my swimming pool," Oelrich said. He declined West’s offer as "being totally inappropriate," said the 2004 graduate of Gonzaga University. Oelrich told the newspaper he knows of "five or six other young gay men that Jim West has met online and offered City Hall jobs."
...Oelrich was interviewed just a few hours before West told the City Council that he is taking a vacation and said he was being "persecuted" by the newspaper. His announcement came the same day that a Spokane woman said she is organizing a petition drive to recall the mayor.
We'll have to see if that last part pans out. But West has earlier admitted to offering a city internship to an 18-year-old via a gay Web meet-up site, stressing his need to remain unexposed, and thus setting himself up for blackmail or coercion. For that alone, I've already opined, he should resign.
Regarding these latest allegations, the longer West declines to issue a firm denial, the truer they look.
Then there's this, from the WaPo: West's City Hall computer has been seized and the contents frozen.
In addition, the SSR reported Saturday:
Spokane Mayor Jim West confided to a city councilwoman Thursday that he masturbated in his City Hall office during an online chat on a gay Web site. "He wanted to kind of bare his soul. He wanted to give me a heads-up," City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers said Saturday in describing a conversation she had with West."
Here is the SSR link (free reg. req.). West refutes this, SSR link here. Rodgers stands by her account. The disputed remarks by West are relevant. Overall, there are a number of judgement issues in play here, and quite possibly, some astounding arrogance, if these reports are true. Another matter is the pending, and as yet unproven allegations of sexual abuse by West of two Boy Scouts years ago.
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at May 09, 2005 08:02 PM | Email This(If he abused his office, he should be recalled.)
Why are we--conservatives, for God's sake--so afraid to suggest that it's OK to vote against someone simply for being a person of low moral character?
Posted by: ScottM on May 9, 2005 08:19 PMIsn't this very similar to what happened in New Jersey last year? I'm glad to see these people exposed...but I'm wondering if there has been a Gay agenda involved with the selection and placement of government employees in our nations cities....counties? States?
Apparently all they (Gays, Lesbians, etc..) have to do is get someone into (or get TO someone in) a high position and the flood gates of *employment opportunity* open for anyone of that persuasion....I believe there is a law against that....
I think there should be an investigation....This could have broad implications across our state and our nation.....
Wow nice epiphany! To think that if a gay young man or woman comes onto a gay politician they may actually get favors. It's a good thing this would never work in our heterosexual world. What a funny idea that an atractive young woman may actually get a job because of a low cut blouse or swimming naked with a potential boss. Too funny- would never happen.
Posted by: Casting Couch on May 9, 2005 09:00 PMI wouldn't read too much into this and what happed in New Jersey. Many in the gay community are either laughing or calling for his head for being a "hypocrate" due to his earlier stands on gay issues while serving in the state legislature.
He's a creep, and and got caught, if true, abusing his power.
cc,
Copyright law being what it is, whether the Spokesman-Review put an obvious copyright reminder on the story or not, if they wrote it and published it, it's automatically copyrighted. Since I'm sure they knew this would be a bombshell (or more like a small tactical nuke) and generate a ton of coverage, they probably made a more obvious show of that fact to remind the rest of the media who broke the story and give them full credit.
Posted by: Mike H on May 9, 2005 09:02 PMCasting couch...
Gee! I know of no website that is set up specifically for *heterosexuals* to celebrate their heterosexuality as the forefront of their lifestyles - and that openly recruit other heterosexuals based on their sexuality - for government positions....
Sexuality should NOT be a reason to hire or fire anyone.....right? Why shouldn't a possible link between sexuality and government hiring practices be investigated? I would think there would be an immediate investigation into the possibility of a link between *firing* practices and sexuality...
Are you saying there should be a double standard here?
Posted by: Deborah on May 9, 2005 09:15 PM"Matt, I didn't have to register to get on to SR through your link or going through Google search engine. I know I'm not registered. Has anyone else been able to just clink on your link and not register?"
Yes cc, I have been able to do that sometimes today and recently at the SSR stories on West, but then sometimes after I've gotten into the stories once or twice, when I go back another time, you have to register. The same thing happens, I should emphasize, at other newspaper sites, with stories on other topics entirely, sites that like the SSR, say "free registration required." My guess is reg. req. sites sometimes like to give you a little taste without the hassle if you're not already registered, in hopes you'll break down and register when they don't let you click right in.
So anyway, when posting, I figure it is best to play it on the safe side and note "Free reg. req.," even tho sometimes you can get in without that.
Posted by: Matt R. on May 9, 2005 09:35 PMI wouldn't read too much into this and what happed in New Jersey. Many in the gay community are either laughing or calling for his head for being a "hypocrate" due to his earlier stands on gay issues while serving in the state legislature."
MikeH,
I know!
But I love to indulge in a good conspiracy theory every once in a while....! Heh...Unfortunately, in this state, I'm finding that - what goes on in government can be much worse than anything I could ever have imagined....
I will now end my indulgence.......darn!
"Michael Moran: I am curious on why the West stories are free to access, but the rest of the newspaper's site is pay-per-view? The Spokesman Review is not read due to this decision. Running the admittedly news-worthy, but really lurid sex stories for free is damn creepy.
Steve Smith: We started charging for the online version of the day's paper some months ago (Sept. 1, 2004) because it costs a lot to produce a daily news report and we just can't give away our news online while charging for it in print.
There is a considerable amount of online content, including breaking news, that sits outside the firewall. We made the decision to put the West material outside the firewall because we felt it was a story of tremendous local significance and that we could not, in good conscience, deny access to anyone who wanted to read it.
One other reason: We run Google ads on our site and they drop in automatically and rely on key words to match the little ads to the content on the online page. Inside the firewall, we can't disconnect this feature. The result could be little ads tied to the West content for something like Boy Scout recruiting.
Not cool.
Outside the firewall, we can eliminate all advertising.
Clarification: The Google ads can be disconnected inside our paid content wall, but not selectively for individual stories, and we didn't want to disable it entirely. (Ken Sands)"
It concerned the building and payment for and ownership of a large parking facility and mall in downtown Spokane.......conveniently, the Cowles came out many millions ahead when all is said and done...there have been multitple law suits and just recently.....one week before the West fest.....just recently the ciy settled with the owners of the Spokesmen-Review.....
pretty coinkidinky, isn't it....
the Review had two reporters for TWO years tracking down Jim West, yet they failed to even give one unbiased report on the shading dealings of the Cowles family....
anybody can accuse anybody of any thing....it seems like these more recent "victims" were gay young men with axes to grind....sounds like they are the totally leftist types so I don't put any creedance in anything they say....
the past occurances that supposedly happened....they are more worrisome, in only that a close deputy friend of West's killed himself over allegations of molestation.....
If West engaged in gay sex, I don't care....but if he used his title to gain love interests, then he needs to resign immediately...
one often hears rumors about politicians or celebrities, but I have never heard anything about West, all these years....
except, last year, my dtr was at a gathering with West, and there was a young campaign worker from Seattle attending who didn't have anyplace to stay....so good old Jim West offers to let the young man stay at his apartment......I just rolled my eyes when I heard that....of course, now, apparently, its all true....
good riddance West.....we thought we knew you.....
Posted by: lee on May 9, 2005 11:06 PMEVERY CHILD MOLESTER MUST BE CAUGHT AND PUNISHED TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW.
... as I recall, Goldschmidt headed a program for "troubled girls". Grooming is grooming.
Posted by: Splatter on May 10, 2005 12:24 AMI wouldn't have a problem with it if they were consistent with labels in all their news, but they aren't. This time it stood out.
Posted by: Scott in Carnation on May 10, 2005 04:50 AMSome observations though:
Gay folk seem to find such behavior disgusting if it's a 'conservative' doing it.
Newsies seem to seek out 'conservative hypocrasy'
Normal people like you and I find abuse of power, impacting the underage, and the rest of the mess actionable and nonsupportable. We also await the results of the police investigation and the prosecutor's determination of charges.
Tempest in a teapot seems to be the best description of the relative impact here. Few seem right, and there's enough sleaze to go around on this story.
Posted by: Patches Pal on May 10, 2005 05:14 AMSorry, lefties. You can't have it both ways (unless you swing that way...sorry, couldn't help myself). Pick a side and stick with it.
Personally, I imagine there are some fine folks in Spokane that can handle this situation just fine on their own.
Posted by: Danny on May 10, 2005 06:53 AMWilliamette Week is the exception that proves the rule. What the mayor did was wrong on many fronts. He should be gone. I was merely opining on the silence from obvious venues.
Posted by: Danny on May 10, 2005 08:16 AMI wonder if Jim West is related to James E. McGreevey, the sleazy Democrat governor of NJ. At any rate he should resign. Now liberals will run to his defense only AFTER Republicans oust him. After all, to liberals it was only about sex, wasn't it?
Posted by: pbj on May 10, 2005 09:08 AMAnyone want to take a crack at the ultimate party line on this?
- Conservative Republican molests boys?
- Religious fundamentalist hypocrite?
- Straight married man who is a pedophile?
Face it, the shameless left has set it up in such a way that there's nothing about this that doesn't vindicate one of their mantras, and leaves them without any sense of angst over it. All while keeping any association with them or any subgroup away from the mess.
And then... HL wakes up an pops off with another pithy observation. Oy!
Posted by: Patches Pal on May 10, 2005 09:39 AMA Hypocrite is a Hypocrite.
You want us to defend him because he is gay?
A pervert is a pervert.
How are we shameless in this whole thing?
When the MSM uses the term Conservative Republican, it is because you guys are so anti- gay that is what makes it a story. Especially this guy who was so active in anti gay legislation (not following, but writing)....Other than the pedophile stuff that hasn't been proven, that IS the story.
If an openly gay pro gay politician is caught surfing the web for dates...it's not a big deal unless it is on government time. Then boy would the Cynicals of the world have a hay day.
Posted by: danw on May 10, 2005 10:33 AMThe silence from the trolls is deafening. Let's see...we have an openly gay man who is a Republican and serving in elected office. If this man were a Democrat we'd be hearing howls about a witch hunt.
Openly Gay? yeah now.
Gay republican elected? Yeah right.
There is a big difference between being gay and feeling that gays deserve special legislation.
Libs think the fact that he is gay or bi or whatever is the story. Why? There is Mary Cheney, Log Cabin Reps, and plenty of others. It does not mean that they get special treatment. I don't and I belong to a minority - European-White-Straight-Republican-Male American. How many of us are there left? (or should I say remaining?)
Posted by: Fred on May 10, 2005 10:46 AMno boo-hoos here, but it's true; say--would we qualify for some protection? anti-harassment or hate crime laws? i hope so; special class for me sounds great!
"Don't harm the SWARM!" Yell it out PROUD! Hey--how about a "SWARM Pride" parade?
We can parade around in tuxedos on floats and pose with our 'hetero' families like some freak show. Seattle will gasp!
Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on May 10, 2005 10:59 AMLOL!
Posted by: Fred on May 10, 2005 01:02 PM(We don't make fun of our homer-sexuls in these here parts ;'}
Posted by: alphabet soup on May 10, 2005 02:15 PMNice retro 70s movie note there. You're right, he should have practiced don't ask, don't tell. You prove that your values are exceedingly selective in their application. Not good enough to be gay...must be liberal gay.
Posted by: Danny on May 10, 2005 02:42 PMCC, I blogged on this one last week at http://ontheotherfoot.blogspot.com. Scroll down a little. The timeline on this will appall you.
Posted by: Joel on May 10, 2005 05:22 PMI am not sure I understand what you are saying. Just because I don't believe in capital punishment for every crime. left or right if he has done what he has been accused of, positions in government for sexual favors, pedohile, or as Cynical would like to say; "using government time to surf for sex." then he should be punished and removed from his position.
The absurd part about it is that this guy was so conflicted, that he tried to write laws that would stop him for what he was doing.
Nice job everyone here for blaming the Spokesman review for this guy being a perv.
I am sure he wasn't doing this until the newspaper lost their parking garage.