http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._West
James Elton West was the mayor of Spokane, Washington. He was recalled during a special election held on December 6, 2005. He must leave his office by December 16, 2005.
West is a native Spokanite. West 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. While in the state legislature, he also proposed to make a law that would ban all sexual activity among persons under the age of 18 (the bill failed). In 1995, when West was a state senator, he advocated the impeachment of then-Gov. Mike Lowry for alleged sexual harassment.
West is involved in sexual scandals as of 2005. He is accused of sexually abusing two young boys in the 1970s and 1980s when he was a sheriff's deputy and Boy Scout leader. West called the molestation allegations "flat lies," but has admitted to having private online relationships in the past year through the Gay.com website. [1] West confirmed the accusations of meeting men over the Internet but denied the charges that he has sought out minors. [2] Using the name "Right-BiGuy" he also offered internships to young gay men (some of whom were just graduating from high school).
There have been calls for him to resign as a result of the allegations. West defended himself in a May 30, 2005, Today Show appearance. In a Spokane City Council meeting immediately afterwards a resolution requesting that he step down was passed unanimously (7-0), yet West has announced he intends to continue on as Mayor. On June 2nd, the Spokane County Republican Party, Washington State Republican Party, and Spokane County Democratic Chairwoman Katie Kirking called for West's resignation.[3] The FBI and a special city commission are investigating to determine if any laws or policies have been broken.[4] In early August 2005, the FBI searched West's home and seized his personal computers as part of its public corruption investigation.
Shannon Sullivan, a Spokane citizen with no prior legal experience, has filed a recall petition. A Superior Court Justice threw out two counts on the petition and upheld one, Mayor West then appealed that ruling to the State Supreme Court. On August 24, 2005 the State Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sullivan, allowing the recall to go forward. Because the State Supreme Court heard and ruled on this case in an emergency session during their summer recess, they did not file and publish a full opinion following their ruling.
Recall organizers collected over 17,000 signatures and submitted them to the elections office on September 21, 2005. The elections office has determined that more than 12,567 of those signatures are valid, so a special mail-in election was held on December 6, 2005 to determine whether Mayor Jim West is to remain in office.
As expected, West was recalled by voters with 65% in favor of ousting him to 35% in favor of keeping him as mayor. As a result of the outcome West has to resign from office on December 16, 2005, the day the final votes are certified by the Spokane County Auditor's office. The ouster of West also marks the the first time in the history of the city of Spokane that a sitting mayor has been voted out of office. His duties will be turned over to city council president Dennis Hession, who will serve as mayor for the remainder of West's term.
Someone should edit that; you don't "join" the legislature. In any case it seems remarkable that he was elected only 4 years after graduating from college.