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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._West_%28politician%29

James E. West (politician)
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This article is about the Washington state politician. For the BSA Chief Executive, see James E. West (Scouting). For other similar names see James West

James Elton West (March 28, 1951 – July 22, 2006), best known as Jim West, was the former mayor of Spokane, Washington. He was recalled during a special election held on December 6, 2005. On December 16, the day the votes were officially certified, he was officially stripped of his duties as mayor.
Mayor West
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Mayor West

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. While in the legislature, West voted in favor of many anti-gay bills, including one that would have banned gays and lesbians from working in schools and day cares, and also proposed to make a law that would ban all sexual activity among persons under the age of 18 (the bill failed). He would later admit that he regretted voting for those measures. In 1995, when West was a state senator, he advocated the impeachment of then-Gov. Mike Lowry for alleged sexual harassment.

West was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2003, had multiple surgeries since then, and finally died due to complications on July 22, 2006.<1>