You know, it's getting to the point where, before I can complete one story of political corruption, there is another, and another, and another. I guess it's just a sign of our times.
Right on the heals of the Elliot Spitzer fiasco, we are now faced with another politician, that not only publicly proclaimed his innocence, but also dragged one of his staff members into the mix as well- his then chief of staff, Christine Beatty. Kwame Kilpatrick, who is known as the "Hip Hop Mayor", defiantly proclaimed his innocence, and proudly spoke of his expectation of being found completely innocent of all charges. One hour later, he was served notice of indictment.
The mayor's and Ms. Beatty's problems began back in January when the "Detroit Free Press" reported that in an analysis of nearly 14,000 text messages on Beatty's city-issued pager, it found some from 2002 and 2003 that indicated the two were having a romantic affair. When confronted with the charges, both parties involved told a Grand Jury that their were no factual basis to the allegations.
Now in all fairness to Mayor Kilpatrick, Ms. Beatty, and "Former" Governor, Elliot Spitzer as well, I must say that they have been indicted, but not convicted yet. However, in both cases, I am sure that the prosecutors involved in these cases have been given some major allegations and a lot of evidence to work with.
Prosecutor Kym Worthy said she charged Kilpatrick and Beatty with multiple counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office in a 12-count indictment. The most serious charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Now here is where you have got to consider the frailty and poor judgement of a human being, (which are human characteristics that I know so well).
You have got to ask yourself. What were they thinking? Which is a rhetorical question, because as a man, I know what he was thinking, and I am sure that you ladie's out there know what she was thinking. But, here you are, a black mayor of a major city. So you are already a target and I can guarantee you, that some of the invisible forces in Detroit that did not like the results of that election, had him and his staff under a very powerful microscope. So you would think he would be vigilant about all of his activities in office. But like I said, we don't always make the best choices in our lives.
I think that another major error in judgement he is making,( if he is guilty, and he knows it), is his insistence on not stepping down from his job as mayor. Last week, Detroit's city council voted 7 to 1, to request that he step down in a nonbinding vote. As of the last information that I read concerning the case, he has still not stepped down, and he continues to insist that he is innocent, and that he refuses to step down. If he knows that he is guilty, he should go without a fight, as sort of a plea bargain package, so that they will not sock it to him when it's time for sentencing.
However, if he is innocent, I agree that he should continue as mayor, and start the process of proving that he was unjustly targeted because of his race, which is what he currently claims. Only time will tell. If you are going to take this type of job that is" based on public trust ", which I know is not the norm for most politicians; instead, it's just a cat and mouse game where one team does it's dirt, while searching for dirt on the other. But I think Mayor Kilpatrick would have done well upon being elected, to study his political history, and should have taken a page out of DC Mayor Marion Barry's book, and should have tried not to duplicate his mistakes.
Right on the heals of the Elliot Spitzer fiasco, we are now faced with another politician, that not only publicly proclaimed his innocence, but also dragged one of his staff members into the mix as well- his then chief of staff, Christine Beatty. Kwame Kilpatrick, who is known as the "Hip Hop Mayor", defiantly proclaimed his innocence, and proudly spoke of his expectation of being found completely innocent of all charges. One hour later, he was served notice of indictment.
The mayor's and Ms. Beatty's problems began back in January when the "Detroit Free Press" reported that in an analysis of nearly 14,000 text messages on Beatty's city-issued pager, it found some from 2002 and 2003 that indicated the two were having a romantic affair. When confronted with the charges, both parties involved told a Grand Jury that their were no factual basis to the allegations.
Now in all fairness to Mayor Kilpatrick, Ms. Beatty, and "Former" Governor, Elliot Spitzer as well, I must say that they have been indicted, but not convicted yet. However, in both cases, I am sure that the prosecutors involved in these cases have been given some major allegations and a lot of evidence to work with.
Prosecutor Kym Worthy said she charged Kilpatrick and Beatty with multiple counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office in a 12-count indictment. The most serious charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Now here is where you have got to consider the frailty and poor judgement of a human being, (which are human characteristics that I know so well).
You have got to ask yourself. What were they thinking? Which is a rhetorical question, because as a man, I know what he was thinking, and I am sure that you ladie's out there know what she was thinking. But, here you are, a black mayor of a major city. So you are already a target and I can guarantee you, that some of the invisible forces in Detroit that did not like the results of that election, had him and his staff under a very powerful microscope. So you would think he would be vigilant about all of his activities in office. But like I said, we don't always make the best choices in our lives.
I think that another major error in judgement he is making,( if he is guilty, and he knows it), is his insistence on not stepping down from his job as mayor. Last week, Detroit's city council voted 7 to 1, to request that he step down in a nonbinding vote. As of the last information that I read concerning the case, he has still not stepped down, and he continues to insist that he is innocent, and that he refuses to step down. If he knows that he is guilty, he should go without a fight, as sort of a plea bargain package, so that they will not sock it to him when it's time for sentencing.
However, if he is innocent, I agree that he should continue as mayor, and start the process of proving that he was unjustly targeted because of his race, which is what he currently claims. Only time will tell. If you are going to take this type of job that is" based on public trust ", which I know is not the norm for most politicians; instead, it's just a cat and mouse game where one team does it's dirt, while searching for dirt on the other. But I think Mayor Kilpatrick would have done well upon being elected, to study his political history, and should have taken a page out of DC Mayor Marion Barry's book, and should have tried not to duplicate his mistakes.
Read The Full Indictment.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/03/24/prosecutor.worthy.charges.mayor.and.beatty[3].pdf
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