On May 5th, the morning the Spokesman-Review printed accusations of sexual misconduct involving Mayor Jim West, a rotating group of KREM photographers and I began camping out on the couches near the Mayor's office in City Hall. West gave a brief statement, denying the allegations, but then refused to answer any questions. Over the next two days, we only caught glimpses of him.
A day after the scandal broke, West attended a sign unveiling for Spokane's Sister Cities event in the park.
Afterwards, while he was walking back to City Hall with his staff, I approached him with a camera and microphone, and started asking questions. His only response was a cold, "No. End of discussion." The video played repeatedly in our stories, and in reports that aired nationally on CBS and CNN. Soon after, citing "media hysteria," West took a leave of office.
In June, when West first floated the idea of a public safety levy, he invited me into his office for an interview. It was the first sitdown interview he granted since before May 5th. We spent a while talking about levies, and then I asked about the allegations, the recall effort, and his relationship with the city council. He answered one or two of the scandal-related questions, and then just stopped talking. He went to rip his microphone off, but stopped short. We sat in awkward silence.
Eventually I said, "I have to ask these questions. West responded, "I know. You're just doing your job." Thankfully, the photographer I was working with eased the tension. It turns out, West taught him how to scuba dive years ago. We left on good terms, but days later in a phone conversation with my boss, West accused me of 'ambushing' him again.
Despite the series of stories I filed over the next few months, Mayor West and I developed a decent working relationship. He almost always answered my calls and emails, and granted me both live and taped interviews leading up to the recall. The only thing he asked not to talk about on camera was his health and cancer treatments.
West repeatedly made it clear that he would never resign, and he really thought he could re-win the voters' support. So the his somewhat jovial attitude at the press conference following the recall came as a surprise. His last comment was directed in my direction. In front of reporters and photographers from across the country, he announced, "I don't watch channel 2. They're too critical." He paused, smiled, and said, "Just kidding, Jared," and walked back into his office.
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