Detroit City Council Votes to Boot Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Out

On Tuesday, the Detroit City Council narrowly voted to oust Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, after investigations showed that he perjured in a whisteblower trial.

The council voted as follows on having the governor oust the mayor under her power, having the council itself remove the mayor and censure the mayor:

• Council President Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. – Yes, Yes, Yes
• Sheila Cockrel – Yes, Yes, Yes
• Brenda Jones – Yes, Yes, Yes
• Kwame Kenyatta – Yes, Yes, Yes
• JoAnn Watson – Yes, Yes, Yes
• Council President Pro-Tempore Monica Conyers – No, No, No (no surprise here - her husband is an idiot, why wouldn’t she be one too)
• Barbara-Rose Collins – No, No, Yes
• Martha Reeves – No, No, No
• Alberta Tinsley-Talabi – No, No, Yes

And here’s some quotes from various council members:

• “I think it places additional pressure on the mayor to consider making a move.” ~~Ken Cockrel, Jr.
• “Part of what makes city government work is an element of trust.” ~~Sheila Cockrel
• “My vote reflects my love for our city, not hatred for our mayor.” ~~Brenda Jones
• “His removal is a necessary step towards excising the malignant tumor … within the city of Detroit.” ~~Kwame Kenyatta (Honestly the best analysis of the situation.  All the others have been WAY too kind to Kilpatrick.)
• “I have an absolute belief that the best scenario out of all of this is for the mayor to resign.” ~~JoAnn Watson (And you thought that you had convinced him to resign, but you didn’t.)
• “This is going to cost the city a lot of money and it’s going to cost the city a lot of time.” ~~Monica Conyers (When did we decide to sacrifice justice for money?  If we never tried any criminals, all of the governments would save money.  This is the most ridiculous excuse out there, and it shows just how dumb Conyers is.)
• Removing the mayor “sets a bad precedent.” ~~Barbara-Rose Collins
• “The council’s no further ahead with that vote than  we were before we took it.” ~~Alberta Tinsley-Talabi (Is that a reason to vote against it?)

So, what happens now?

• The governor could remove the mayor.
  • Within the next week, the council will send a sworn statement to Granholm’s office asking her to remove the mayor.
  • The governor’s office will have a meeting with the state’s attorneys to look into the complaint.
  • Assuming that the complaint has followed the proper protocol, Kilpatrickwill be served with a copy of the complaint and and notification of a hearing.
  • If it is found that the mayor engaged in official misconduct, Granholm would have to open removal proceedings, but there is no set timetable that would accompany the process.
• The council could remove the mayor.
  • The council will hold a public hearing on June 13^th.
  • A trial would take place sometime after the hearing.  This would last about 2 weeks.
  • The council would vote on removal.
  • Kilpatrick’s attorneys could block the effort in court.  He could also appeal his removal in court.
• Kilpatrick could resign.
  • I’ll wake up from a really weird dream, hit the snooze button, and hopefully dream about some fun vacation in San Antonio (it’s a GREAT city – you should go sometime).

So, what’s likely to happen?

• I DOUBT the governor will step in.  She has said that she doesn’t want to, and Detroiters (especially African Americans) would NOT look kindly upon the “intrusion.”  If you ask me, Detroit needs a good intrusion.  L. Brooks Patterson should annex Detroit and whip it back into shape.
• I REALLY DOUBT that the mayor will resign.  JoAnn Watson pleaded with him to resign, and that got nowhere (I plan on doing a blog post specifically on her plea, sometime later today).
• The council will probably vote to remove him after the hearing, but Kilpatrick will appeal it, showing that he really doesn’t give a rip about the city, making them pay more money, to oust him for a crime that he and his mistress committed during a trial where he cost the city $8 million.
• Wayne County Prosecutor Kym worthy will probably build a good case and he’ll be found guilty in a criminal court.

I’ll keep you updated as things happen.

Done Ranting,

Ranting Republican
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Update on the Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Scandal

OK, well details are coming out of this thing faster than details about the 2008 primaries.  See here for my previous post: http://inkslwc.wordpress.com/2008/01/26/detroit-mayor-kwame-kilpatrick-involved-in-another-scandal/.

So, here are the new details:

1. Monday, January 28th
   1. Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, Kilpatrick’s alleged (and late confirmed) mistress resigned.
      1. In response, Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers (acting president while Ken Cockrel Jr. is over seas) and Councilwoman JoAnn Watson said that the council should not wait for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s investigation to be finished, buth that the Council should also conduct its own investigation.
   2. Sharon McPhail, a former Councilwoman and opponent of Kilpatrick’s during his last reelection campaign, who is now one of his top aides said that “I’d just be awfully surprised if this resulted in any charges.  I just don’t think it’s there. … When the facts are known this is just going to be a blip on the screen of all the wonderful things he’s done for the city.”  HUH!!!  What screen is she looking at?  Is she forgetting about the “blips” from the Manoogian Mansion party, the death of stripper Tamara Greene, the Red Lincoln Navigator, the controversy over his civic fund (the time that he threw Ray Sayah’s microphone – yeah, he must hate WXYZ), the whistleblower trial that sparked this scandal, or the time that his guards threw Steve Wilson into a wall?  Even my hardcore Democratic grandma can’t stand him.
2. Tuesday, January 29th
   1. Kilpatrick hired Kandia Milton, an aide, as his new Chief of Staff, saying that he “has proved his skills as my deputy chief of staff and as my liaison with the City Council and I know he will do an exceptional job in this new assignment.  He has worked effectively with Council on a number of initiatives and has shown an ability to develop cooperative, productive relationships that will be valuable in this new assignment.”
      Milton responded by saying, “I am grateful to the Mayor for giving me the opportunity to serve the people of Detroit in this capacity.  I know that under the Mayor Kilpatrick’s leadership, Detroit’s best days are yet to come.”
   2. A proposal brought up by Conyers and Watson in the City Council to perform an investigation was defeated.  Only Watson voted for the proposal.  Most Councilmembers, such as Kwame Kenyatta opposed the measure due to the absence of Cockrel and Councilwomen Martha Reeves and Alberta Tinsley-Talabi (who are in Taiwwan on a trade mission), while Conyers said that she want to hold a closed meeting first.
3. Wednesday, January 30th
   1. On his way to his televised public apology, Kilpatrick pushed reporter Steve Wilson out of the way and swung at the camera of Mandi Wright, causing the camera to hit her in her face.  Unlike Kilpatrick’s previous encounter with Wilson, I think that Kilpatrick was somewhat justified in moving him out of the way, but not for swinging at Wright’s camera.
   2. That night he gave an apology speech with his wife (available here in full: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080131/NEWS01/801310429/1003):
      

      Good evening, Detroit.  I want to start tonight by saying to the citizens of this great city, I’m sorry.  To all of you who have believed in what we’ve been doing here since 2002, to all of you who have believed in me, in my leadership, to all of you who have stuck with me through very difficult times, to all of you who prayed for me: I’m sorry.

      For the embarrassment and the disappointment the events of the past few days have caused you, for what you as my supporters, many of you, have had to hear as you traveled around our city to beauty shops and barbershops, what you had to hear when you were in church this past Sunday from people who know that you have supported me.

      For those of you who have not always been Kwame Kilpatrick supporters (isn’t this most of the city?), but who lift up our city, who live in our city, who support this town in various ways, I truly apologize to each and every one of you individually and to the whole city.

      Most of all tonight, I want to make a public apology to my entire family, and specifically to the four people who I love the most in this world.

      First, I want to apologize to my sons, Jelani, Jalil and Jonas. For the first time in my life, I had to have a conversation with my 12-year-old twin sons about very grown-up things. It was, without a doubt, the hardest conversation that I’ve ever had in my entire life.

      Finally, and most importantly, I want to make a public apology to my wife, Carlita, who I fell in love with when I was 19 years old. We decided to build a family together, and we did that.

      Our marriage has not been perfect, but it has been great. Now, I put her in a situation which many couples deal with in the privacy of their own homes, but in our case, it’s on the front page of the newspaper. This dynamic, strong, caring woman has been forced to go through this very difficult experience because of me. I truly apologize to you.

      As many of you know, I’m not the type of person who displays my emotions in public, but I have to tell you I’ve felt more emotion in the last week than I have in the past 20 years. I’ve been truly hurting. I’ve been hurting because I know that many of you are hurting. And most of all, I’ve been hurting because I know my family is hurting. And I’m responsible for that.

      Over the past few days, there’s been some speculation about who is in charge of the city. Make no mistake about it, since 2002, I have been in charge of the city (unfortunately).

      There have been ups and downs, there have been hills and mountains and valleys, but through it all, I remained in charge of the city (what ups?). I believe we built a team here that understands the mission and focus and commitment that we must have to serve our citizens. We’ve done some amazing things, but we have a lot of work left to do (in 5 years, you’re gonna be blown away?).

      Over the past few days, there has also been a lot of speculation about me resigning from office. Let me be clear tonight: I would never quit on you (trust me, nobody would see it as that – they’d be happy). Ever. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and with your help, I’m going to continue to lead this city in getting the work done. I am truly blessed and grateful that my wife is beside me tonight, and she has some personal remarks of her own to make.

      …

      Detroit, I am determined that we will keep moving forward. I am determined to continue the tremendous progress we are making in this city, in the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression.

      Detroit, together we have managed to do great things. We have paved more streets than ever, we have built more new houses than ever. We have balanced our budget and wiped out a $300-million deficit.

      We have developed 75 buildings downtown, large and small, we have built seven new hotels, we have built three new rec centers in neighborhoods that have not seen rec centers in 20 years . We are building out our riverfront, and we are not stopping now (I’ll give him these things – that’s been a great improvement to Detroit).

      Detroit, please continue to pray for our family, for our city and for our continued progress. God bless you, Detroit. I love you, and I’ll see you at work tomorrow.

      The thing that stuck out to me the most here is the part that I bolded. Nowhere does he say that he’s hurting because he cheated on his wife or because he hurt his family, but becaue his family is hurting and the people of Detroit are hurting. He doesn’t admit that he’s the cause of this hurt and it makes it sound like the only reason that he’s sorry is because he got caught (which is probably true considering how many strippers in and out of Detroit he’s been involved with before).

4. Thursday, January 31st
   1. Kwame Kilpatrick reports for work as usual.
   2. Some people weighed in on the Mayor’s speech:
      1. Diane Murphy from Sterling Heights: “Perjury’s not private.  I wanted him to say, ‘I lied and I’m sorry.  I screwed up.’  In his personal life, he may be squared away, but not his professional life.”
      2. Others were upset about the loss of the $9 million.
      3. Still others sypathized with Beatty (why – she wasn’t a scapegoat, she was his MISTRESS!).
      4. Stephen Henderson, a Free Press columnist said, “This is about sex with an employee.  About the ruined careers of three police officers.  About lies told under oath, in a courtroom.  And about $9 million in public money that was spent to settle lawsuits inspired by his personal behavior.”
5. Saturday, February 2nd
   1. Norman Yatooma, an attorney representing Jonathan Bond, the son of Tamara Greene (a stripper known as Strawberry), who was shot on April 30th, 2003.  Yatooma is representing Bond in a federal lawsuit which claims that both police and citiy officials covered up her death.  Former Police Lt. Alvin Bowman said in a lawsuit that city officials transferred him out of the homicide division because he was investigating how Greene was killed.  She was rumored to have performed at the infamous Manoogian Mansion party in the fall of 2002.  (At the time, Attorney General Mike Cox dismissed the rumor as just a rumor.)  Bowman later left the department citing stress leave and then sued the city.  Bowman was awarded $200,000 for the lawsuit.  Now Yatooma is asking SkyTel to provide copies of incoming and outgoing text messages and calls, originating from any Detroit SkyTel messaging device from a list of 34 people.  Kilpatrick, his bodyguards Mike Martin and Loronzo Jones, Christine Beatty, former Police Chief Jerry Oliver, Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, and Alvin Bowman are all on the list. 

And that’s what all has happened in Detroit involving Kilpatrick these past few days.

I think Kilpatrick will get investigated by the Council eventually, and will be impeached if he doesn’t eventually resign.  There’s no way he can avoid it – he perjured.  He admitted to this – he said he cheated, and that means he perjured.  He needs to be booted, and so do half of his corrupt associates, like Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings.

Done Ranting,

Ranting Republican
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