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Spokane Mayor Wants Data on Computer Kept Secret; Embattled Official Faces Recall Drive Over Sex Scandal

Posted on: Sunday, 28 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

SPOKANE- Lawyers for Mayor Jim West, the subject of a recall petition drive over a City Hall sex scandal, have asked a court to block the release of copies of potentially embarrassing contents of computer hard drives.

In a sworn affidavit filed Wednesday in Spokane County Superior Court to support the request for a temporary restraining order, West said his city-owned computer's hard drive may contain information relating to "personal social contacts" from his use of the device outside City Hall.

On Wednesday, the state Supreme Court cleared the way for a recall petition drive based on an allegation that West used his position to write a recommendation for a City Hall internship to someone he met online in a gay chatroom and believed to be an 18- year-old man.

The "teen" turned out to be a computer forensics expert hired by The Spokesman-Review newspaper as part of its investigation of the mayor.

An examination of the computer hard drive, or disk, could indicate whether West used that computer to visit gay Web sites, or solicited relationships in exchange for jobs.

On Thursday, The Spokesman-Review challenged the mayor's request for nondisclosure, citing the city's written policies on use of City Hall computers by employees and elected officials.

The mayor previously has acknowledged having relationships with adult men, but has denied any wrongdoing.

Former City Attorney Mike Connelly seized the mayor's laptop computer for a short-lived investigation shortly after the newspaper last May began publishing a series of articles alleging that West, a former state Senate leader and staunchly anti-gay legislator, was having sexual relationships with, and offering jobs to, young men he met in gay chatrooms.

A panel appointed by Connelly to investigate whether West violated city policies or laws fell apart when most of its members resigned and Connelly accepted a similar job with the city of Spokane Valley.

Earlier this month, FBI agents seized three of West's personal computers from his home as part of a federal public corruption investigation. The personal computers are not at issue here.

West's lawyers want to block release of the city computer drives by the city attorney's office to media seeking to review their contents under the state's Public Records Act.

"I believe the information on the city computer disk is private, not subject to public disclosure, and is exempt from disclosure," West said in his affidavit.

Spokane's computer and e-mail policy states that City Hall computers are for public uses and that state or federal laws may make their data available to citizens.

Meanwhile, recall organizers on Friday set up a kiosk on busy Division Street where signatures can be collected 24 hours a day, said Rita Amunrud, spokeswoman for Citizens for Accountability in Government, a pro-recall group that sponsors www.westmustgo.com.

Source: Columbian

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