Article published June 29, 2008
Kilpatrick controversy splits Detroit
Embroiled in a costly scandal, the 2nd-term mayor maintains a loyal following while others press for his impeachment
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick faces criminal charges as well as calls for his ouster.
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By CHAUNCEY ALCORN
BLADE STAFF WRITER
DETROIT — As Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick fights for his political life and perhaps his freedom in the wake of felony charges stemming from a text-messaging scandal, feelings of racism, unequal treatment, political corruption, and perceived ignorance about the mayor are dividing the predominately black population of the troubled Motor City.
In January, the Detroit Free Press published a story detailing text messages sent in 2002 and 2003 between Mr. Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty, his former chief of staff, that strongly suggest the mayor lied under oath during a four-year whistleblower lawsuit filed by three former Detroit police officers.
The mayor and city lost a jury verdict of more than $6 million and later withdrew an appeal of the case and quickly settled for about $8 million after the incriminating text messages were received under subpoena by attorney Mike Stefani, who represented all the former officers.
In his criminal case, the mayor is accused of lying under oath about an extramarital affair with Ms. Beatty and about the reasons for firing Gary Brown, one of the officers in the lawsuit.
The Rev. Horace Sheffield III says many of Mr. Kilpatrick’s critics dislike the mayor because he stands up for the people of Detroit while other mayors have not.
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After the Free Press story ran, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy issued charges against Mr. Kilpatrick, including perjury and misconduct in office, and a divided Detroit City Council voted 5-4 in May to impeach him or have him removed from office.
There’s no way to tell what will happen to the mayor once his case goes to court, but equally unclear is his standing in Detroit’s court of public opinion.
In April, Detroit resident Angelo Brown started a recall campaign to remove the mayor from office as soon as November. The mayor’s term doesn’t end until 2010.
Since then, Mr. Brown has been joined by other Kilpatrick critics and recall organizers, including Chris Beatty, the uncle of Lou Beatty, who is the ex-husband of Mr. Kilpatrick’s former chief of staff.
Mr. Beatty has been walking the streets of Detroit since the beginning of June, trying to convince people to sign a petition to put a mayoral recall on the November ballot.
“I believe a great majority wish he would just go away and let Detroit start over, but I find more citizens than I would believe that still sit on the fence,” he said. “So many people believe he should be left alone. They say, ‘Well [white public officials commit crimes and adultery] so why y’all running [Kilpatrick] out?’ The people will tell you that they dislike what he’s doing, but they have a difficulty signing.”
Mr. Kilpatrick’s office declined repeated requests to comment on this story, saying his lawyers needed to approve before he could talk to the Blade.
| KWAME MALIK KILPATRICK |
Born: June 6, 1970; age: 38
Party affiliation: Democrat. He spoke at the
2000 and 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Education: Graduated from Cass Technical High School in Detroit. He received his political science degree from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, where he was captain of the football team. He later received a law degree from Michigan State University’s college of law.
Public service: Mr. Kilpatrick worked as a teacher at Detroit’s Marcus Garvey Academy before beginning his political career.
In 1996, he was elected to the seat in the Michigan House of Representatives vacated by his mother, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, who was elected to represent Michigan’s 15th Congressional District. He was elected mayor in November, 2001, and won a controversial re-election battle over challenger and fellow Democrat Freman Hendrix in November, 2005.
Family: Mr. Kilpatrick’s mother is the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. His father, Bernard Kilpatrick, was chief of staff to former Wayne County Executive Edward H. McNamara.
Mr. Kilpatrick and his wife, Carlita, have three sons, Jelani and Jelil, who are twins, and Jonas. |
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Polling numbers
The most recent poll of Detroiters’ opinions on the mayor was conducted March 25 and 26 by the public opinion research group Selzer & Co., which was commissioned to do a poll by the Detroit Free Press.
Ann Selzer, president of the research group, said her firm polled 503 Detroit residents and found that 49 percent said they would definitely vote for someone other than Mr. Kilpatrick in November, 2009, while 23 percent said they would definitely vote for Mr. Kilpatrick.
But only 48 percent of those polled felt the mayor should leave office immediately, while 40 percent said he should not.
“In terms of there being a base of support for Mayor Kilpatrick, I think that’s true,” Ms. Selzer recently told The Blade. “One in five thought the mayor would be acquitted and remain in office. That’s not a small group. It’s not enough, but it’s a group of people who are standing by to help him stay in office.”
A source of debate
Some of those supporters can be found at D’ Woods Barber Shop on Eight Mile Road on Detroit’s East side, where owner David Woodger says his customers constantly debate about the mayor.
During a recent visit, Bo Thomas, 43, was one of several people with strong opinions who support the mayor remaining in office. “I don’t want to say it’s about race because we’ve had too many black mayors to say that,” he said. “But if you’re a black man, you’re guilty until proven innocent ... [Kilpatrick’s accusers] want him out of the way because they can’t control him.”
Detroiters such as Mr. Beatty describe the city as one of the most segregated major cities in the country. The city has a black population of about 81 percent and a white populaton of about 12 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Some neighboring suburbs such as Warren have a population about 90 percent white and less than 5 percent black.
| CHRONOLOGY OF A SCANDAL |
November, 2001: Kwame Kilpatrick defeats City Council President Gil Hill to become the youngest mayor of Detroit.
March, 2003: Harold Nelthrope, a guard for Mayor Kilpatrick, reports to police internal affairs he has heard from other police officers that they attended a party at the mayor’s official residence, the Manoogian Mansion, where a nude dancer allegedly was assaulted by the mayor’s wife, Carlita.
April, 2003: Gary Brown, deputy chief of internal affairs for the Detroit Police Department, is fired after meeting with Michigan State Police and after asking questions about the party and other police misconduct.
April 30, 2003: Tamara “Strawberry” Greene, the stripper alleged to have been assaulted by the mayor’s wife, is killed in Detroit near the home of a male acquaintance. Investigators assigned to the case describe the slaying as a targeted assassination, or “hit.”
May, 2003: Michigan State Police officially begin investigating the purported Manoogian Mansion party and possible criminal misconduct by the mayor, his wife, and Detroit police officers. The office of Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox also begins investigating.
June, 2003: Mr. Brown and Mr. Nelthrope file whistleblower lawsuits against the mayor, claiming wrongful termination and discrimination for cooperating with a police investigation.
June 24, 2003: The state attorney general’s office announces it is closing the Manoogian Mansion investigation, describing the party as an “urban legend.”
January, 2004: The Michigan State Police close their Manoogian Mansion investigation, citing a lack of evidence.
May, 2004: Former mayoral police bodyguard Walter Harris files a lawsuit against Mr. Kilpatrick and the city, claiming discrimination against him in his job duties as a result of his reporting information to the Michigan State Police buttressing reports of misconduct made by Mr. Nelthrope.
May, 2005: Detective Alvin Bowman sues Mr. Kilpatrick and the city for transferring him from his job as a homicide detective to the graveyard shift at another precinct because he was investigating the Tamara Greene homicide. Miss Greene’s file was transferred to the department’s “cold case” section around the time of Mr. Bowman’s transfer.
April, 2006: Mr. Bowman’s case is settled for $340,000.
September, 2007: A jury rules in favor of officers Mr. Brown, Mr. Nelthrope, and Mr. Harris for a total verdict of about $6.4 million. City attorneys working for Mr. Kilpatrick appeal the verdict.
October, 2007: City attorneys decide to drop their appeal and settle with the former officers for $8 million after the content of text messages is obtained by the officers’ attorney.
January, 2008: The Detroit Free Press publishes a story detailing the contents of 14,000 text messages sent between the mayor and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, indicating the two had an extramarital romantic relationship and apparently lied under oath about the reasons Mr. Brown was fired.
January 20, 2008: Mr. Kilpatrick goes on local television with his wife and apologizes for the scandal. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy begins investigating the text messages for proof of criminal misconduct.
March 12, 2008: The mayor delivers a passionate state-of-the-city address, challenging what he calls the media’s “lynch mob mentality” and vowing to remain in office.
March 19, 2008: Detroit City Council issues a vote of “no confidence” in the mayor, asking him to resign.
March 24, 2008: After a 56-day investigation, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charges the mayor and Miss Beatty with multiple felony counts, including perjury, misconduct in office, and obstruction of justice.
May 13, 2008: City Council votes 5-4 to move to impeach the mayor and asks Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to remove him from office. |
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Support and criticism
The Rev. Horace Sheffield III, a Kilpatrick supporter who is pastor of New Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, said many of the mayor’s critics dislike him because he stands up for the people of Detroit where other mayors have not.
He said former Mayor Dennis Archer was politically favored by whites in and around Detroit because he supported giving up city property and services to suburban communities.
“Under Archer, we lost residency, our courts, and income tax,” he said. “The police and fire don’t have to live here any more,” Mr. Sheffield said. “The suburban populations tend to prefer mayors that are not strong black men,” he said. “It’s almost as if we prefer you if you don’t have a certain demeanor. We would like you if you weren’t so black. We like you if you support our agenda at the expense of your own people.”
Mr. Kilpatrick has been criticized and revered for his image as the “Hip-Hop Mayor,” a nickname he earned for wearing diamond-studded earrings and flashy suits and frequenting social scenes that cater to a younger audience.
Even Mr. Kilpatrick’s toughest critics acknowledge the embattled mayor is a gifted, talented politician, who began his mayoral career with the charisma of another prominent black public official.
“The truth of the matter is Kilpatrick with his talents could have been Barack Obama before there was a Barack Obama,” said Detroit TV and radio personality Mildred Gaddis, host of Inside Detroit, which airs on WCHB-AM 1200 radio from 6 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Mrs. Gaddis credits herself with being a tough critic of the mayor since he first took office in 2002.
“I was the only person who recognized from day one that Kwame Kilpatrick had talents that would take him where his character could not keep him,” she boasted. “He is smart. The camera loves him. He has a great smile. He’s a very likable guy, quite appealing ... [But] he is the consummate con man, and con men have great skills. That’s how they’re successful. It may get you there, but it certainly won’t keep you there.”Motor City woes
It’s hard to tell if the number of people calling for the mayor to resign has increased as a result of the text-messaging scandal or whether the voices of people who always disliked him have just gotten louder.
For the last seven years, John Reihl of Detroit has been president of Local 207 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, a union representing more than 1,000 government employees.
Mr. Reihl is one of several Detroit union leaders supporting the recall campaign against Mr. Kilpatrick, but he said the text-messaging scandal has little to do with it.
He said the mayor has laid off more than 1,000 government employees since he took office in 2002 and has supported a policy of privatizing city services.
“I do not give a hoot who he has sex with on any particular day, but we do feel like we’re being raped on a regular basis by him,” he said. “Fifty-one percent of the work goes to contractors. They’re just throwing money at these people and the contractors often do poor jobs. It’s not saving money ... You’d be hard pressed to find anything that’s improved in the city. The city’s kind of gone to hell in some ways.”Council perspectives
Kilpatrick critics such as City Councilman Kwame Kenyatta, who authored the resolution to impeach Mr. Kilpatrick, said many of the mayor’s supporters give him credit for initiatives that were started under Mr. Archer, the former mayor, but that Detroit’s problems have worsened under Mr. Kilpatrick’s watch.
“Under him we’ve still been considered one of the poorest cities, one of the dumbest cities, one of the fattest cities, according to Forbes magazine,” Mr. Kenyatta said, referring to a story in the magazine’s Jan. 30 issue that declared Detroit America’s most miserable city.
‘I don’t want to say it’s about race because we’ve had too
many black mayors to say that,’ says Bo Thomas during a visit to D’ Woods Barber Shop. ‘But if you’re a black man, you’re guilty until proven innocent . . . [Kilpatrick’s critics] want him out of the way because they can’t control him.’
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THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER
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“These people did not pay a trash fee eight years ago. We were not in the national spotlight with a mayor that had been indicted with eight counts and the butt of jokes of every comedian around the country ... We have to look at what the reality is vs. what uninformed people may feel on the basis of emotion.”
Councilman Monica Conyers, the wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, voted against having the mayor removed.
“They had nothing to base it upon asking him to resign other than newspaper articles,” she said in a recent Blade interview. “I believe if the election was held today, the mayor would get re-elected. He’s charismatic, the people love him, and the people of Detroit are forgiving.”
Legal issues
Media personalities, public officials, religious leaders, and residents debate and disagree on how the Kilpatrick saga will end, but city officials say Detroit is in turmoil and in need of strong leadership regardless of who the mayor is.
Meanwhile, the mayor’s legal troubles continue unabated, with lawyers representing him filing suits to block council’s impeachment attempts.
City Council recently delayed impeachment proceedings until August but has asked Gov. Jennifer Granholm to remove the mayor from office. The governor’s said she is investigating the case.
The mayor’s lawyers also are preparing for preliminary hearings for Mr. Kilpatrick and Ms. Beatty’s criminal case, which begins in September.
Councilman Monica Conyers opposed the resolution to remove the mayor. ‘They had nothing to base it upon . . . other than newspaper articles,’ she says.
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THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER
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Recall organizers need about 60,000 signatures by Aug. 5 to place an ouster question on the November ballot, but they won’t disclose how close they are.
And there is the $150 million lawsuit filed in federal court against Mr. Kilpatrick and the city by attorneys for Jonathan Bond, 15, son of the late Tamara “Strawberry” Greene. The suit accuses the mayor’s office of interfering with the investigation into Miss Greene’s slaying and preventing investigators from probing allegations of a 2002 party involving strippers at the Manoogian Mansion, Detroit’s official mayoral residence.
Miss Greene — an exotic dancer working under the name Strawberry and allegedly at the party — was killed on April 30, 2003, in a drive-by shooting.
It was the Detroit police’s probe of the killing — and questions about the purported party at the mayor’s mansion — that led to the disciplinary action against the officers, their lawsuits against Mr. Kilpatrick, and the text-messaging scandal.
Contact Chauncey Alcorn at:calcorn@theblade.com or 419-724-6168.
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