Unaccountable Kilpatrick Refuses to go: Detroit City Council has 2 tough options for ousting mayor

AP The City Council discussed its three options for dealing with scandal-plagued Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in closed session Tuesday two could lead to his ouster but seem unlikely, and one would amount to a slap on the wrist.  The council on Monday received a special report by its outside attorney summarizing facts in the text-messaging sex scandal that led to perjury and other charges against Kilpatrick and a former aide.

The report suggests that the council consider removing Kilpatrick from office, asking Gov. Jennifer Granholm to do it or publicly censuring the mayor. The latter two options "are probably being looked at more strongly on the part of council," Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. said Tuesday. If the council tried to remove Kilpatrick itself, "it could result in a new trial which could tie up a lot of money and a lot of time for an extended period," Cockrel said.

State law allows the governor to remove an elected official from office for a number of reasons, including official misconduct, willful neglect of duty or a felony conviction. Granholm has said she wants to allow the legal process to play out.

Granholm's office would not comment on the report's recommendation "because state law prescribes a potential role" for the governor in the Kilpatrick issue, spokeswoman Liz Boyd said Tuesday.

The council could vote as early as next Tuesday on what action to take, Cockrel said. It directed the attorney who wrote the report, William Goodman, to draw up language for resolutions on recommendations from his report.

Kilpatrick and former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty face a June 9 preliminary examination on perjury, obstruction of justice and other charges. They are accused of lying under oath during a whistle-blowers' trial last summer when they denied being romantically involved.

Excerpts of embarrassing and sexually explicit text messages left on Beatty's city-issued pager, and first published in January by the Detroit Free Press, contradict their testimony.

The whistle-blowers' lawsuit, filed by two former Detroit police officers, led to an $8.4 million settlement of that suit and another lawsuit filed by a third former officer. Council members say they were misled in approving the settlement because they were unaware of a Kilpatrick-signed confidentiality agreement that referenced the text messages.

Kilpatrick and Beatty have pleaded not guilty. The mayor has refused to leave office and has said he will be exonerated.

Goodman's report accuses Kilpatrick of violating provisions of the City Charter that prohibit using public office for private gain and settling city civil litigation without the Council's consent.

The council passed a nonbinding resolution in March asking Kilpatrick to step down as mayor. It is expected to vote Thursday on whether to file a brief asking the courts to quickly move Kilpatrick's criminal case along, Goodman said.

Kilpatrick's office on Tuesday called Goodman's report "pointless."

"We did not learn anything from this report that was not already known," Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams said in a statement. "I am concerned that there was no opportunity for the Mayor's office to provide a defense to these groundless accusations, not to mention hypocritically wasting taxpayer dollars on a shadow investigation."