So said Amy Goodman in Democracy Now!'s "Headlines" for March 25, 2008. Strangely, however, Friday's "Headlines" noted:
In Detroit, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has resigned after admitting he committed perjury to hide an affair with his chief of staff. Under a plea deal, Kilpatrick will spend four months in jail and pay a $1 million fine. Despite a five-year ban from running for office, the thirty-eight-year-old Kilpatrick vowed to stage a political comeback.
That's a curious way to note what took place between March and last week. First of all, he was asked to step down by the city council (in a five to four vote) and he refused. The council then referred to the matter to the state's governor, Jennifer Granholm.
Granholm actually had to hold a hearing Wednesday to prompt Kwame into finally taking action and between March and September, he also assaulted a sheriffs' deputy, disregarded the judge's orders not to leave Detroit without first notifying the court and a great deal more.
Perjury? The Guardian of London reported he "pleaded guilty to charges of obstruction of justice."
That was Thursday and, though he gave a self-serving speech on Thursday, he didn't resign. He's set to be sentenced September 18th and he apparently intends to hang on as mayor until that date gets closer.
Kwame Kilpatrick entered a guilty plea to felony charges and entered a no contest plea to charges of assaulting an officer of the law. Two felony charges. And then he gave his self-serving speech which offered attacks and excuses:
I'm stepping down because the new spirit of this city, the new expectations and standards that we've set for excellence in the past six and a half years has been tangled up in what I believe is the pursuit of many people's own political ambitions, even our governor, Jennifer Granholm, who I wish well. Rather than focusing on finding solutions to the huge issues that are facing our state, the record home foreclosures, the lack of affordable health care, and record unemployment in our state, Kwame Kilpatrick was at the top of her list.
Yeah, it was all about Granholm, right Kwame? He's attacking her when the city paid out eight million dollars at his direction for what was nothing but a hush fund. Eight million dollars.
In his speech he also referred to those events as happening when he was a "young man." If he Kwame was too young to be mayor, he shouldn't have run for the office in 2001. He became mayor only after being elected to the state legislature in 1996. This "young man" talk is nonsense. He was an adult. How far into adulthood are we going to allow crooks (including admitted felons) to prolong their 'adolescence'?
Not only is felon Kwame still mayor, he's also still vice president of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors. They gave him the post and they have not issued a press statement saying he is no longer a part of their conference.
Their silence indicts all Democrats.
You might be thinking of the Honorable Stephanie Tubbs Jones, an honorable woman, who died and had her Congressional website pulled within hours because Nancy Pelosi couldn't stand a Hillary supporter. Well as The Financial Times of London noted, Kwame was a super delegate who supported Barack from the start. Let's be really clear, the man is a felon twice over. There is no reason for Democrats to stay silent.
There is every reason to draw a line between what he did (and is doing) and themselves. Is doing?
The Detroit Press reported that the still-mayor gave out some rewards at the close of the work week:
Totally classless is the only way to describe soon-to-be ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's decision to hand fat raises to some of his top aides on his way out the door.
It smacks of the same disrespect for the public interest, and selfish motivation, that led to his downfall in the first place.
Raises when the city's budget is tragically out of whack? When somewhere between 800-1,000 employees will need to be laid off just to balance the books? And these weren't just pittance raises. Many reached 11% -- far more than anyone toiling in a position covered by the city's collective bargaining agreements might ever expect.
Just like the city had to cancel the payment on a shady deal whose money was paid to a company but made its way back to Kwame's wife (that payment cancelled was $250,000).
For those wondering when It's-Important-To-Be-Right-From-Day-One Barack called for Kwame to step down, The Detroit Free Press reports it was September 4th the day after the news outlets reported he was copping a plea and hours before he did just that in court. In other words, when called, Barack had other things to do and not even the Governor of Michigan holding a hearing to determine whether or not they could force Kwame out of office prompted Barack to speak out.
Shannon Jones (World Socialist Web Site) observed last week:
First elected in 2001, Kilpatrick became the youngest mayor of Detroit at age 31. His administration won the support of the city’s corporate establishment for its "business-friendly" policies, including the establishment of tax-free enterprise zones. Kilpatrick's efforts to "revive" Detroit included more cuts in social services, the sell-off of city assets, the privatization of services, and the hosting of sporting extravaganzas, including the 2006 Super Bowl.
Kilpatrick enjoyed national prominence in the Democratic Party. He spoke at the 2000 and 2004 Democratic conventions and was elected vice president of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors. However, his lavish lifestyle in a city ravaged by unemployment and poverty drew unfavorable notice. He charged more than $200,000 in entertainment expenses to the city and used public funds to lease a luxury vehicle for family use. Rumors of a wild party involving exotic dancers at the mayoral mansion further tarnished his image. The subsequent murder of one of these dancers, Tamara Greene, in an apparent contract killing, led to a lawsuit by members of her family, who say city officials obstructed the investigation into her death.
Rochelle Riley (Detroit Free Press) summed up the 'conclusion' as follows:
And thus ends -- for now -- the saga of the mayor and his women:
Tamara Greene, the stripper who reportedly said she was beaten at the Manoogian Mansion by … Carlita Kilpatrick, the mayor’s wife, whose alleged dustup with Greene was not properly investigated by
…Ella Bully-Cummings, an upstanding cop who could not withstand a bullying mayor and his entourage that included
…Sharon McPhail, who once claimed the mayor rigged her City Council office chair to electrocute her, but later gave in to his charms and defended him in front of
…Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a compatriot from Ed McNamara’s political machine who embraced an ouster request from the City Council, whose new president will be
…Monica Conyers, the unpredictable wife of Congressman John Conyers, who called for the mayor to resign, then changed her mind in the case involving the mayor and
…Christine Beatty, former chief of staff, who pled guilty to NOTHING yesterday and who holds the key to a Pandora’s box containing any and every secret the mayor has had in the past six years.