SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – Mayor James West was dealing with political fallout on May 6, a day after acknowledging that he had relations with adult men and cruised a gay chatroom. He denied allegations he sexually abused two boys decades ago.

After a Spokesman-Review investigative report detailed allegations of child sex abuse and misusing his office to meet young men in a gay Internet chatroom, West sidestepped calls for his resignation and said he intends to serve the remaining 32 months of his term.

But that could prove difficult, given the allegations that West offered a City Hall internship, professional sports tickets and other gifts to entice into a relationship someone he thought was an 18-year-old schoolboy.

“Politically, it’s very damaging,” former Spokane County Prosecutor Don Brockett said. “From my own perspective, what bothers me is the promising of things and use of office. That would apply whether you are Republican or Democrat. It’s a kind of breach of trust.”

Meanwhile, City Attorney Mike Connelly said he wants an independent investigation to determine whether the mayor violated city policy for Internet and e-mail usage. The probe also will look into the mayor’s internship program, Connelly said.

Connelly said he was still working on details, but wants someone not affiliated with the city to conduct the investigation. Relevant information had been secured, Connelly said.

The city’s e-mail policy bars reference to or discussion of any sexual acts, sexual relationships, dates, dating, personal relationships or sexually related graphics.

West declined to comment after attending a brief ceremony on May 6 to unveil directional signs for the 2005 Sister Cities International annual conference, scheduled for July.

On May 5, responding to the S-R story, he said: “The newspaper also reported that I have visited a gay chat line on the Internet and had relations with adult men. I don’t deny that.”

West resigned May 6 from the board of Morning Star Ranch, a school for troubled teenage boys. On May 5, he resigned as an executive of the Inland Northwest Council of the Boy Scouts of America, severing a 30-year relationship.

The mayor categorically denied allegations that he abused two boys when he was a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy and scoutmaster in the late 1970s and early ’80s. The statute of limitations has expired and no criminal investigations are underway, local law enforcement agencies said.

The allegations against West surfaced in depositions filed in a lawsuit against Spokane County involving a former fellow sheriff’s deputy who committed suicide after allegations of sex abuse were raised in the early 1980s. West is not a defendant in that lawsuit.

The Spokesman-Review published allegations from Robert J. Galliher, 36, of Seattle, and Michael G. Grant Jr., 31, of Spokane, convicted felons with drug problems who say West molested them when they were in the Boy Scouts.

In an interview with S-R reporters for the investigative series, West said he would not characterize himself as gay, but used an Internet messaging screen name that would indicate bisexuality.

West served 20 years in the state Legislature, rising to the post of Senate majority leader, before resigning in 2003 to become Spokane mayor.

In the Legislature, West strongly opposed gay rights bills, and more recently, as mayor threatened to veto a domestic partner benefit measure.

Bonnie Aspen of the Inland Northwest Business Alliance, a Spokane non-profit organization of gay-friendly businesses, said there is a reluctance to “out” gay or bisexual politicians.

“I think the gay community here in Spokane has always done a remarkable job of hearing the rumors and not outing him based on rumors,” she said.

The issue is not West’s sexuality, but rather his actions in office, she said.

“We don’t think it’s OK for people in positions of authority to abuse their power,” Aspen said. “That’s unacceptable and it really doesn’t matter what their sexual orientation is.”