Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the man that Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy personally invited to speak in Asheville i honor of the MLK holiday last month, will find out Monday whether or not he will face criminal charges in his ongoing political scandal that erupted shortly after Kilpatrick spoke here. Here’s the story from the Detroit News:
I can’t imagine Kwame Kilpatrick will get much sleep tonight. Tomorrow morning, the Detroit mayor will learn whether his next battle will be to avoid doing prison time.
I’ve got no clue what’s going on inside the Manoogian Mansion today. Perhaps Kilpatrick is as cavalier about his predicament in private as he is in public.
But I doubt it. I suspect the mayor is spending a good deal of time today on his knees, when he’s not walking the floor. He must be reassuring his family and friends, and, hopefully he’s finding some relief for a while in an NCAA tournament game.
Kilpatrick should also be objectively reflecting on how his next move will affect his family, his community and himself, in that order.
Tomorrow could be a historic day for Detroit and certainly a life-changing one for Kilpatrick.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy will announce at 11 a.m. whether she’s hitting the mayor with criminal charges that could range from perjury to obstruction of justice.
If she charges the mayor, the discussion immediately shifts to whether an indictment is cause enough for the people of Detroit to call for the mayor to step down.
Kilpatrick has vowed several times since this scandal erupted that he won’t quit on the residents of Detroit. He says it as if staying in office, no matter what this storm brings, is the stand-up thing to do.
But the mayor must examine whether he’s allowing ego and stubbornness to get in the way of sound decision-making.
Defending himself against felony charges, if they’re filed, will require an enormous commitment of time and energy that would otherwise be expended on behalf of the citizens. It’s not something he can relegate to his free time.
Kilpatrick may have incredible energy and focus. But I’m skeptical that he or anyone else can compartmentalize life well enough to keep legal troubles of this magnitude from becoming a major distraction. The taxpayers of Detroit won’t be well served by a mayor who’s preoccupied with courtrooms and attorneys.
Even if he can summon the stamina to keep both plates spinning, Kilpatrick’s effectiveness as mayor is undeniably compromised. The City Council made that a fact last week with its 7-1 vote calling for his resignation.
The mayor has no leverage to get anything through the council.
If he is charged, Kilpatrick and his lawyers will have to analyze the strength of the prosecution’s case.
If, in their view, it would be very difficult to win, he may find his job is a valuable bargaining chip. If a resignation could lessen any penalty he could face, it may become a real consideration.
He doesn’t have the burden of principle — Kilpatrick may dispute the technical details of any charges, but he knows his actions were wrong on so many levels. Risking jail to clear a name that he sullied himself would be self-destructive.
He may well escape criminal charges, and that would take this episode in a sharply different direction.
But as he contemplates his fate today, he ought to honestly weigh his options.
Here’s another story, summing up Kilpatrick’s situation:
DETROIT, Mich (WOOD) — The Wayne County prosecutors’ office has already made a decision and will be announcing it Monday about whether or not Kwame Kilpatrick will be facing perjury charges.
It is a long-awaited answer for Detroit residents and everyone else in the staet in this highly publicized story.
The mayor, in his second term, exposed in a financial, political and personal scandal but still insists that he has nothing to hide. His credibility is already scarred after he admitted to lying on the stand about his relationship with his Chief of Staff Christine Beaty last summer.
Earlier this week, the Detroit City Council voted in favor of asking Kilpatrick to resign, but he said he will not step down.
The announcement is being prepared for tomorrow about what is ahead, a tough decision for prosecutors.
The prosecutors’ office will make the announcement Monday at 11 a.m.
Legal experts said Kilpatrick as well as Beaty will likely face charges.
