By JOHN K. WILEY, Associated Press Writer

Mayor James E. West must leave office this month after voters recalled him in a special election sparked by allegations he used a city computer to woo gay men over the Internet.

In California, Republican state Sen. John Campbell was elected to a vacant congressional seat in a race that placed a spotlight on national immigration policy.

West, 54, must leave his position when the election results are certified Dec. 16. He has not been charged with a crime, but FBI agents seized computers from his home as part of an investigation.

"I said I'd abide by the will of the voters, obviously, and they've spoken," West told The Associated Press Tuesday. "I'm at peace with their decision and disappointed."

West, a former Boy Scout executive and sheriff's deputy, was elected mayor in 2003 after serving more than two decades as a conservative Republican in the state Legislature, where he voted against gay-friendly bills.

A little more than half of the 110,000 ballots mailed to voters were counted in the first batch of results released Tuesday night. Of those, 38,718, or 65 percent, voted to recall West, while 20,681, or 35 percent, voted to retain him.

The recall campaign began after the Spokesman-Review newspaper reported in May that West was a closeted homosexual who visited gay chat rooms using his city-owned laptop computer, and offered internships and other favors to young men he hoped to have sex with.

West has denied any wrongdoing. In a newspaper ad, he acknowledged making "personal mistakes" but insisted he had "never done anything to harm our city."

California's House race was to fill the vacancy created by Republican Christopher Cox, who represented the Orange County district in the House for 17 years before resigning to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.

With all precincts reporting and absentee ballots counted, Campbell had 41,450 votes, or 45 percent in unofficial returns, followed by Democratic candidate Steve Young with 25,926 votes, or 28 percent, in one of the most reliably Republican districts in the nation.

Third-party candidate Jim Gilchrist, a founder of the Minuteman Project border patrol group who made illegal immigration the centerpiece of his campaign, was third with 23,237 votes, or nearly 25 percent.

Gilchrist, a retired accountant and former Marine, complained Campbell would not go far enough to curb illegal immigration.

The issue resonated with voters frustrated with a growing population of illegal immigrants in suburban Orange County, which is less than a two-hour drive from Mexico.

"We need to have people able to come here to work, but come legally and not come permanently," said voter Al Corfield, 67.

Others were disappointed Gilchrist seemed to be a one-issue candidate.
"What else is he going to offer people?" said Rene Guns, a Belgian immigrant who voted for Campbell. "They're violating our law, but you can't base a campaign on that."
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Russell Wilcox is a retired college professor who spends several months in Florida and several months in Rhode Island each year, and whose interests include boating and sailing, political activism, ballroom dancing and bridge. He has an MBA from Harvard, a Computer Systems CAGS from Bryant and a BS from Northeastern. He has worked in industry for EG&G and Texas Instruments, operated his own business with more than 200 employees, and served as Director of the Computer Information Systems Program for Stonehill College. He is a published author of two technical studies, and is the proud father of four children and the proud grandfather of six grandchildren. A holder of two patents in microchip connections and a true product of the melting pot, his father is the son of a Yankee farmer, and his mother the second generation daughter of Italian immigrants who retained their culture, but strove mightily to become Americans, sending four sons to fight against Hitler and Mussolini.