Kwame

Posted by Editor | March 22, 2008 .

I have to admit I can’t be fair about this. In fact I am downright biased. What am I talking about? Unless you are from Michigan you likely have not heard a lot about the “Sex, Lies, and Texting” scandal plaguing the city of Detroit. Our Hip Hop Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is about to find out Monday, March 24th if he will be prosecuted for perjury along with his ex Chief of Staff and Ho on the side Christine Beatty.

Kwame There are not a whole lot of people who would like him to stay in office at this point. Over the past few weeks many people have joined together asking the mayor to resign. Prominent business leaders, labor unions, citizens, and even the city council have called for him to step down. It just amazes me how he can look right into the camera and say that there is a “Lynch Mob” mentality out there to get him. That there are no facts and research to back up the news stories about his affair and perjury. His ego and attitude have made the situation even worse for him. He hasn’t a shred of credibility left. However, I think he has a plan. He knows he is going to be prosecuted. And stepping down as the city’s mayor is a plea bargain card that he will likely try to use. But for those who have no idea what I am talking about I decided to do a brief history of the Hip Hop Mayor’s scandals. So sit back and enjoy. It’s gonna be a long one.

In his first term the Mayor allegedly charged thousands of dollars of personal expenses to his city issued credit card. Some of the items the city paid for were trips to the spa, massages, expensive champagne, and dining at some of the finest restaurants. The mayor eventually paid back $9,000 of charges. But that was not the only thing troubling his reputation. When the city leased a Lincoln Navigator for $24,995.00 ($5.00 less than needed for city council approval) for his wife and kids, the news got wind of it. I remember the mayor repeatedly denying that the Navigator was not being used to shuffle his wife and kids around in. He had stated that the police department ordered it for him and when he found out he requested it be taken back. When the police department said it could not be returned the department decided to use it for undercover work. It wasn’t until the news broke that the navigator was commissioned for other uses. The Mayor had refused to speak to the press and to answer questions about the Navigator until a bodyguard shoved a news reporter on camera. Finally after being backed into a corner the mayor agreed to speak to the press and “clear the air” of the navigator incident. He asserted that he was wrong for mis communicating the facts and agreed to be “more transparent”. Hmmmm. I thought he said he had no knowledge of the navigator?

Shortly after the Navigator incident Kwame was named one of the country’s worst mayors by Time Magazine. Some of the reasons for bestowing Kwame with this honor not only include the navigator scandal but also questionable credit card usage totaling over $210,000.00 and also for handing out contracts to friends and family.

It is well known that Kwame employed just about every member of his family, including extended family members. But family were not the only ones partaking in the Mayor’s bounty. He also employed long time friends and acquaintances. In December of 2007 the Mayors press secretary Matt Allen pled guilty to beating his wife in a drunken rage. He later resigned effective Feb 29th 2008. But that was not the last on the gravy train for the Mayors friend. Kwame appointed his wife beater press secretary to a made up position in the cable commission as the Executive Senior Producer for $85,000.00 per year. A job that never existed up until the appointment. When city council got wind of the appointment they threatened to dock the Mayors budget by $85,000.00 a year in order to block the bogus appointment.

It doesn’t end here with the Mayor. There was the long lawsuit and trial against the city and Mayor for firing two Detroit police officers over investigating the “rumored” party at the Mayor’s mansion. This is where the Mayors wife allegedly beat a stripper for performing for the mayor at a wild party. She was later murdered, gunned down by an unknown person. Now the surviving child of the dead stripper is suing the city and the Mayor. This is another ongoing story which is too complicated and deserves it’s own post. During the trial the Mayor and his chief of staff Christine Beatty stated under oath that they did not have an affair or a sexual relationship. It wasn’t until after the trial that secret text messages were shown to the mayor by the plaintiffs attorney. He later settled with the plaintiffs for 8.4 million dollars. As a part of the deal the messages were to be kept secret. The city council did not have any knowledge of the text messages at the time they approved the 8.4 million.

Later on after the settlement the text messages were made public by an unknown source and published in the Detroit Free Press. The text messages clearly show the Mayor and his chief of staff were having an affair. The content of the messages demonstrated an affair and perjury on the stand by the Mayor and his Chief in the whistle blower lawsuit.

This led to the resignation of his chief of staff Christine Beatty. The Mayor was in Florida with his family at the time the story broke. He was not visible for days while Detroiters were wondering what was next for the City. During this time the Wayne County Prosecutor announced an investigation into the Mayors conduct and that of his ex chief of staff for perjury and misconduct in office.

Finally after days of silence the mayor spoke on TV with his wife in their church on live tv. It was lacking conviction and sincerity while putting his wife on the spot.

After the apology it was back to business for the hip hop mayor. His attitude was not that of a humble and sorry individual but that of the normal Kwame who blames everyone including the media for his problems. In the weeks following his appearance on television the mayor battled the Detroit Free Press and the City over the secret settlement documents in court all the way up to the State of Michigan Supreme Court. The documents were later made public by the courts allowing the public to see what happened during the settlement and how the city council was kept in the dark regarding the Mayors conduct. More text messages were made public with a close friend of the Mayor’s and his chief of staff over contracts and payments. This only added fuel to the fire for those who have had it with the mayor.

Finally, during the State of the City address the mayor ended it in a tirade and rage again blaming the news media for all of his problems. Using terms like “Lynch Mob” and the N* word to somehow exalt himself above everyone else and excuse his behavior. This is just a tidbit of our mayors shenanigans.

If this is what we are aware of then how much more is there that we don’t know about him and his actions. 8.4 million dollars could have been better spent employing laid off police officers and firefighters. Or we could have had nearly one thousand abandoned and dilapidated homes torn down.

There still is the case of Tamara Green that looms over the Mayor’s head. Finally people are starting to speak up about the “party” and Tamara’s murder. The party that never happened is suddenly getting a lot more attention.
So here we are March 23, 2008. Waiting for the Wayne County Prosecutor to announce her decision into the perjury and misconduct probe tomorrow. If she wants to maintain any credibility then she will have to prosecute.

All I can say is Mayor, don’t let the jail cell door hit you in the ass. It’s probably gonna get sore over the next few years.

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