Saturday, November 21, 2009

A SPOKESMAN-REVIEW INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

Interview with Jim West on 'The Today Show'

Transcript from May 31, 2005

The following is a transcript of an interview between Mayor Jim West and Matt Lauer which aired on NBC's "The Today Show" on Tuesday, May 31.

Matt Lauer: We begin with NBC's Peter Alexander.

Alexander: Spokane's conservative Mayor Jim West facing growing pressure to step aside from his colleagues, who recommend he resign as early as tonight...

(footage of protesters outside City Hall, chanting "West must go")

... and, the community.

Protester: I think he's making our city a laughing stock of the ... of the world.

Alexander: West, a longtime gay rights opponent had to admit he visited gay websites and had relations with men after an online sting set up by The Spokesman-Review newspaper. Among the claims: that the Mayor offered favors, gifts, even a City Hall internship to teenage boys he met online. The paper also published accusations about what West did as a sheriff's deputy in the 1970s and the Mayor firmly denying it.

(File footage) West: I've said before and to repeat again, that the allegations that I molested young boys over 20 years ago are entirely false.

(footage of protesters outside City Hall)

Alexander: But today, there are ongoing questions about the Mayor's formerly private life and how they might affect his public office. For Today, Peter Alexander, NBC News, Los Angeles.

Lauer: Mayor James West, good morning.

West: Good morning, Matt.

Lauer: Good to have you here. You said when you were running for election in 2003, "my private life, it's public, I don't have much of a private life." Well, now you're private life has been splashed newspapers all across the country. How are you handling that?

West: Well, it's difficult. It's especially difficult for my family, my 79 year old father, my brothers and sisters, my ex-wife, but you know, I'm still focusing on the job, still focusing on Spokane, a great community.

Lauer: You said to The Spokesman-Review, your local newspaper on May 9 that you are "being destroyed because I'm a gay man." But four days earlier, you said, to the same newspaper, "I wouldn't characterize me as gay." How do you characterize yourself?

West: You know Matt, bisexual, gay. After my marriage broke up about nine years ago, I did have intimate relationships with both men and women and I'm not going to go into my private life here on national TV, I'm not going to psycho-analyze myself, but you know, I guess that's about all I can say about that.

Lauer: There seem to be two major issues here. The one issue is we have a Mayor who was outspoken, opposing gay rights ...

West: Not necessarily, Matt. I voted to represent my legislative district in the Legislature. I was not an advocate, I did not stand up, I was not a leader of the charge, in any of those cases. Every representative and every senator from my district has voted exactly the way I voted ...

Lauer: So you're saying this was purely politics ... (overlap) business was business?

West: When people elect you to go to the Legislature, they elect you to do certain things, representative government. My district votes that way.

Lauer: Did you ever say, Mr. Mayor, that when you were voting against some of these bills that would have given more rights to gay couples, for example, and yet you were visiting gay chat sites and having relationships with men, did you ever in your private time say, man this is hypocritical.

West: You know, Matt, somebody explained it to me this way, just about a week ago, and they said if you hire somebody to paint your house blue, and they think it ought of look better red, what color do you want your house to be painted? The people of my legislative district elected all the representatives, and all the senators, to go to Olympia and represent them and the majority of the people in my district, that's the way they feel.

Lauer: And were you representing yourself, you might have voted differently on some of those issues?

West: You know, I'm a conservative, you know. I'm not a closet liberal pretending to be a conservative, I'm a conservative. And what's wrong with somebody who has what's called an alternative lifestyle or an alternative sexual orientation being a conservative? Can a gay or bisexual person be conservative? Can a black person be conservative? Can a Hispanic person be conservative? I think they can.

Lauer: You have some other issues, and namely some potential criminal charges. The FBI has opened a preliminary inquiry into a possible public corruption case against you claiming you abused your office by offering jobs to young men you met in this gay chat room. The city has launched its own investigation into your internship program and computer use. You have said publicly you've denied any criminal activities.

West: That's correct.

Lauer: Mayor West, how close to the line do you think you've come, though?

West: I don't. I haven't misused my office for personal gain. I haven't, you know, done anything illegal. Those investigations, first of all, the FBI is a very preliminary inquiry to see whether or not an investigation is justified. The city investigation, I fully sanctioned. I placed it with the city attorney, I don't want anything to do with it, so there's no taint to the investigation. And the city attorney is now taking upon himself to appoint an independent group of citizens in Spokane to conduct the investigation. I welcome those investigations because I believe they will clear me.

Lauer: How about these other potential charges that you molested two young boys. They were Boy Scouts at the time.

West: Absolutely wrong, absolutely wrong. I did not know those two men, never heard of them before The Spokesman-Review brought them to my attention. Never happened.

Lauer: When you spoke to the editor of The Spokesman-Review, Steven Smith, and you were asked if other men claiming to be abuse victims are likely to come forward you told him "probably so." Why would you answer the question that way if you didn't think there were some other skeletons in the closet?

West: Because there seems to be, any time there's anything like this, there seems to be people that want to pile on, people that just want to come out and make allegations, In fact, that happened. A gentleman who's a prisoner, in prison in Montana, has called The Spokesman-Review and alleges that when I was a deputy I inappropriately did something when I was conducting a search. Didn't happen. Didn't happen. But people will come forward, for whatever motive, and make these kinds of claims.

Lauer: Clearly the people in Spokane, who have been following this story more closely than people in other cities or across the country, have formed an opinion.

West: Yes.

Lauer: But what do you want people in general to know about Jim West? That they aren't hearing in the headlines now?

West: That I'm a person that cares very much about my community. You know Spokane's a great place. It's a place where people work hard, where they play hard, and where they basically try to leave each other alone but they'll come together and rally around people when they need help.

Lauer: Do you expect them to rally around you? I mean, there are many calls for your resignation.

West: I've received letters and emails. My mail and my emails are running two to one in favor of me resigning. (sic) I have with me emails from people who said I didn't vote for you, but you're doing such a great job as Mayor ...

Lauer: Wait, wait. You're saying two to one in favor of you not resigning?

West: Not resigning. The mail that's coming to me, the emails that are coming to me are running in my favor not to resign. Stand your ground. They say if the allegations are true, you ought to go. Well, they're not true. But they say if they're not true, stand your ground, you shouldn't be run out for just simple allegations. Because if you can do that, they you can run anybody out of office.

Lauer: So private life is private life and you think you can survive this?

West: I think I can survive this. You know we've made some great progress in Spokane, and we've got more to do.

Lauer: Mayor James West. It's good of you to come and talk to us this morning. (overlap) I appreciate it.

West: Thank you very much for having me.