James Elton "Jim" West (March 28, 1951 – July 22, 2006) was an American politician. In 2005, while Mayor of Spokane, Washington, he was the target of allegations of the sexual abuse of boys twenty years earlier. These allegations became public after West became a target of a sting operation conducted by his hometown newspaper, the Spokesman Review. Some journalists and academics criticized the paper for what they saw as a form of entrapment. West...
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James Elton "Jim" West (March 28, 1951 – July 22, 2006) was an American politician. In 2005, while Mayor of Spokane, Washington, he was the target of allegations of the sexual abuse of boys twenty years earlier. These allegations became public after West became a target of a sting operation conducted by his hometown newspaper, the Spokesman Review. Some journalists and academics criticized the paper for what they saw as a form of entrapment. West admitted engaging in homosexual behavior with adults, despite an earlier record of supporting "anti-gay" legislation. Though never charged, he was removed from office by recall in 2005. The Federal Bureau of Investigation eventually closed its investigation and took no action for lack of evidence.
West was born in Oregon and raised in Spokane, Washington. He served in the U.S. Army after high school and graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in Criminal Justice in 1978.
West was good friends with David D. Hahn and both were officers...
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