Today is a very sad day for the city of Detroit. It’s a historic day for all the wrong reasons.Today, our sitting mayor pleaded guilty to two felony counts of “obstruction of justice” (lying under oath). As a result, he will be automatically removed from the Office of Mayor (per the city charter) and lose his law license. He will also serve four months in prison, pay a one million dollar restitution and forfeit his state pension.
This evening, Mayor Kilpatrick stood before the city. I was looking for brief, contrite remarks that would put this saga behind us once and for all. However, all I heard was more of the same.
Kilpatrick began by stating that he accepts “full responsibility” for his mistakes and poor judgment. But then he quickly took aim at Governor Jennifer Granholm—chiding her for neglecting other state duties to make his removal hearings a priority.
Next, Kilpatrick turned his attention to the next-in-line for the Mayor’s job—City Council President Kenneth Crockrel, Jr.—with what came across as a back-handed request for “prayer” for Mr. Cockrel because —as Kwame Kilpatrick puts it—there is a “big difference between the office of Mayor and city council.”
In all, Kilpatrick spent about ten minutes of his thirteen-minute announcement touting his accomplishments—in what sounded more like a campaign speech than a heartfelt apology.
Tonight, I was really hoping that for once, we’d see a truly humble Mayor who wanted more than anything—to relinquish the reigns so that Detroit can move forward. Instead, we saw Kwame Kilpatrick in his usual form—not backing down, but already positioning himself to come back.
No comments:
Post a Comment