http://www.newsmax.com/us/detroit_mayor_council/2008/05/06/93969.html
Detroit City Council Has 2 Tough Options for Ousting Mayor
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
DETROIT -- 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 re****t by its outside
attorney summarizing facts in the text-messaging *** scandal that led
to perjury and other charges against Kilpatrick and a former aide.
The re****t 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 re****t'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 re****t,
William Goodman, to draw up language for resolutions on
recommendations from his re****t.
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 ***ually 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 re****t 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 re****t "pointless."
"We did not learn anything from this re****t that was not already
known," Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams said in a statement. "I am
concerned that there was no op****tunity for the Mayor's office to
provide a defense to these groundless accusations, not to mention
hypocritically wasting taxpayer dollars on a shadow investigation."
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