Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is facing new charges and possible removal from office. Kilpatrick has been involved in legal turmoil since January when it became public that he was romantically involved with his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty.
Kilpatrick was placed in jail last week after he traveled to Canada without the court’s permission. He is currently facing a plethora of felony charges ranging from perjury to assaulting police officers when they tried to serve a subpoena on a friend. His felony charges now rest at 10. With his disregard for both the political and judicial systems, there is no guarantee the total will stop there.
On top of it, Kilpatrick’s new bail requirements give him some new bling to wear — a GPS ankle bracelet. Unfortunately, it only comes in unfashionable hard plastic.
Kilpatrick refuses to step down from his mayoral post despite pleas from politicians, community leaders, the media and a vote of the Detroit city council. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is activating an obscure power allowing the governor to remove city officials. Granholm has scheduled a September 3 meeting on Kilpatrick’s fate.
Kilpatrick has become one of the rare examples of an obstinate, embarrassing public official, not just for the city he represents, but also for Michigan and the entire country. His blatant disregard for the law belongs more to the era of the gangster-ridden 1920s or the Wild West of the late 19th century. One thing for certain, Kilpatrick’s arrogance does not belong at the head of Detroit’s city government, even if he is proved innocent of all charges.
