Spokane Gets a Seat at the Table
Jim West won his fifth term as a state Senator in a squeaker of a race on November 5, 2002. The Republicans also won the tiniest of majorities in the Senate, and the Republican caucus rewarded West by electing him as Senate majority leader. The Associated Press characterized West as a "tough-talking former deputy sheriff," who wanted "to lower the partisan tenor of the place" (Ammons).
The Seattle Times noted in an editorial that Senator Lisa Brown (b. 1956), the new Democratic Senate minority leader, was also from Spokane, which "often feels left out of the power structure" ("West and Brown"). "Their one-two positioning gives the area an important seat at the table," said The Seattle Times ("West and Brown").
West had been a state senator for 16 years and a state representative for four years, so he brought with him a wealth of experience. "He knows the arcane rules that run the Senate as well as anyone," said The Seattle Times. "His experience as Senate Ways and Means Chairman will serve him well this year as the budget will dominate the session. But West's challenge will be to keep his one-vote majority from splintering" ("Legislature: The Major Players").
The "People Area"
Brown said West was adept in two political areas -- policy issues and strategy -- but was less skilled in the "people area" (Shannon). Not long into the session, a public feud broke out between West and a member of his own party, State Senator Pam Roach (b. 1948) of Auburn, a longtime West nemesis. In early February 2003, Roach was accused of pointing a gun at a former staffer. Roach denied the allegation and hired a legislative assistant, Kelly Hinton, to search through legislative staffers' emails to help prepare a defense.
Roach said Hinton found numerous "inappropriate" emails from Senate Republican staff members, and she turned them over to the Secretary of State's office, "expecting an investigation of the e-mailers" ("West, Roach Feud Simmers"). Instead, Hinton was suspended for disclosure of Senate employees' emails and escorted out of Roach's office by security guards. Roach was livid.
"I've been intimidated and bullied and threatened by caucus leader Jim West," said Roach. "This is just a depraved, power-hungry jerk" ("West, Roach Feud Simmers"). West refused to respond to her "emotional outburst" ("West, Roach Feud Simmers"). Roach escalated the feud by threatening to bolt the party, which would undo the Republican majority. A week later the state Senate publicly reprimanded Roach for failing "to adhere to the Senate's respectful workplace policy" ("State Senate Rebukes Roach on Office Policy,"). However, the majority held together and West was credited with running an organized and collaborative session.
This was not the first public feud West had had with Roach. In August 1995, Roach had criticized West, then chairman of the Senate Republican finance committee, for a stance he took on a dispute with the Public Disclosure Commission over campaign funds. West had advised the party to keep raising money during the session even though the commission had already warned it was illegal.
"This is the brains of Jim West," Roach had told reporters. "I didn't think it was right and it looks terrible" ("Illegal Campaign Money Already Spent"). West had responded by telling reporters that Roach was a "nit-picker" and a "royal pain and has been since the day she was elected" ("Illegal Campaign Money Already Spent").
Previous Public Spats
In his ascension to majority leader, West had survived several other public spats. In March 1995, he got into an altercation in the office of fellow Spokane Republican State Senator John Moyer (1922-2014) over a letter Moyer had distributed about funding for Spokane's Cheney Cowles Museum. West believed the letter made him look bad. According to Moyer's staff, West went into a tirade and kicked the office door. West himself admitted he nearly lost control and confronted Moyer.
"I almost punched him [Moyer] out," said West. "I threw him out of my office. I swore at him. I said some bad words. I was so mad I could feel myself clenching my fist. Luckily it was on the doorknob" ("West Throws Verbal Punches at Fellow Republican"). Later, West admitted that he was wrong and sent flowers to Moyers' staff, which refused to accept them. A political reporter from The Spokesman-Review wrote, "maybe it's time for those anger management classes West loves to ridicule" ("West Throws Verbal Punches at Fellow Republican").
The most serious incident took place in March 1998 with Tom McCabe, a lobbyist with a group called the Building Industries Association of Washington. West was angered over a pair of ads run by the group, which chastised him for "not supporting our children" (Welch and Camden). West phoned up McCabe and left the following voice message: "McCabe, you son of a bitch, you better get me, cause if you don't, you're dead" (Welch and Camden).
An alarmed McCabe called Olympia police, who showed up at West's door, read him his rights, and interviewed him. West initially downplayed the incident by saying that he didn't mean "dead" literally, and said the only thing he would do differently was that he would corner McCabe in person and not "leave the message on his answering machine" (Welch and Camden).
But after West was charged with two counts of misdemeanor harassment and intimidation, he agreed to settle the case by paying $500 to an Olympia charity and apologizing to McCabe. He also apologized to his district in a campaign letter sent to voters. "I'm apologizing because it was the wrong thing to do," West wrote. "More importantly, I'm apologizing for the bad example I have set for the young people in our community. In the years I have served as your state senator, I have been in many tense and stress-filled situations. Until this incident, I have never allowed those pressures to drive me to make such a serious error in judgment" (Martin).
Staying in the Game
Toward the end of his first and only session as majority leader, West stunned the legislature when he announced that he had colon cancer and would undergo surgery. However, a week after the surgery, he returned to wrap up the session, announcing, "I'm in the game" ("West Back in Senate").
By the end of 2003, West had left the legislature to become mayor of Spokane. He served as mayor from 2003 to 2005, when voters recalled him due to a gay sex scandal.
