James Elton "Jim" West (March 28, 1951 – July 22, 2006) was an American politician. While serving as mayor of Spokane, Washington, he became the target of a sting operation conducted by the major local newspaper, the Spokesman Review. On June 2, the Spokane County Republican Party, Washington State Republican Party, and Spokane County Democratic Chairwoman Katie Kirking called for West's resignation. West was later recalled during a special elect...
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James Elton "Jim" West (March 28, 1951 – July 22, 2006) was an American politician. While serving as mayor of Spokane, Washington, he became the target of a sting operation conducted by the major local newspaper, the Spokesman Review. On June 2, the Spokane County Republican Party, Washington State Republican Party, and Spokane County Democratic Chairwoman Katie Kirking called for West's resignation. West was later recalled during a special election held on December 6, 2005 and was officially stripped of his duties as mayor ten days later. Five months after he was cleared of criminal charges by the Federal Bureau of Investigation he died of cancer.
West was a native Spokanite. He served in the U.S. Army after high school and graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in Criminal Justice in 1978. In 1982 West joined the Washington Legislature as a Republican and served until 2003, when he became mayor of Spokane.
While in the legislature he served as Senate Majority Leader. During...
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