It's no surprise, and predicted here (and of course, not just here) for many months: Jim West has been recalled as mayor of Spokane.
Not all the ballots have been counted yet, or will be (under Washington's odd system of allowing mailed-in ballots to count even days after the election) for a while. But the 76%-35% decision to recall is much too decisive to be reversed.
For Spokane, the real question of the day is, what now?
Most immediately, the next event is on December 16, when Council President Dennis Hession, an attorney with Richter-Wimberley, will become the mayor pro tem, an interim position only. Indications are that this translates in ideology to a move from the right toward the center, though what that would mean for the city directly is unclear. Also unclear is whether Hession will want to keep the job, whether it's his if he wants it, and who might be the city council's alternative to serve the last couple of years of the mayoral term if not him.
That's the narrower question. The broader one is, what are the takeaway lessons for Spokane from all this?
By voting for recall the voters have taken the West scandal off the front pages and airwaves, mostly at least. But there's no pretending that it didn't happen, or that it didn't shoot a fierce spotlight onto parts of the city most people would rather not think about. In a way, the people, and the leaders, of Spokane have a bigger choice ahead of them: Do they sweep "all this" under the rug, or - even while rebuilding their civic image - find a way to acknowledge and deal with it?
If that sounds a little vague ... more will be coming in the days ahead.