DETROIT MAYOR KWAME M . KILPATRICK is under fire after revelations last week showed that he was romantically involved with his chief of staff, Christine Beatty. In the wake of the scandal, Beatty has resigned from her position.As I ruminate over Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s scandal regarding sexual text messages he is reported to have exchanged with his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, I am reminded of what the mayor said to me at an event at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
At the time I was with another Black publication that Kilpatrick thought was one of his media nemeses. He felt I was unfairly critical of his administration. At the end of the event I recalled the mayor walking up to me saying, “The brother cannot give me a good word.”
I told the mayor that he would have to give me something good to write about.
That was roughly four years ago.
It is now 2008.
And my take on it was, and still remains, that my duty as a journalist, is not just to write the good, but also the ugly about people and events as I see them for the benefit of our readers. I have a responsibility to present a balanced perspectivee on the issues.
Since the alleged affair between Kilpatrick and Beatty was made public, I have received many calls from business, political and civic leaders asking for my opinion. I asked these leaders to read this week’s edition of the Michigan Chronicle.
I see three groups in this scandal.
There are those calling for the mayor’s head to roll, like political consultant Sam Riddles, WCHB talk show host Mildred Gaddis and many more.
On the other hand there are others who want the mayor to continue in his job and allow the legal process to work, such as MIX 92.3 FM talk show host Frankie Darcell, political consultant Adolph Mongo and many others.
The final group is comprised of those keeping silent, whether they are religious, civic or community leaders. We hear them on every other issue except this one. They should come out and tell us where they stand. If you support the mayor, say that. If you are not a supporter, make that known.
If the mayor is forced to step down, who will stand to gain? Detroiters who did not vote for him, union groups like AFSCME Local 207 whose leader John Rheil has been in the news calling Kilpatrick a disgrace, and those who think he’s not been a good manager of the city. Surprisingly, Rheil’s own boss, Al Garrett, who heads the powerful 60,000-member AFSCME Council 25, has not said anything on the record about this issue. What is going on within the rank and file of this influential union body?
If Kilpatrick stays in office, who will benefit? Detroit voters who reelected him in the hotly contested 2005 mayoral race, individuals like council member Barbara-Rose Collins, who said the sex scandal was a red herring, and activists who say powerful Black male elected officials have always been subjected to unbelievable media scrutiny, among others.
When people are crying the loudest for the mayor to resign, are they doing it in sincerity? Are these individuals tired of the Kilpatrick administration and his mistakes?
When others ask the mayor to stay in office, do they really mean it? Are they doing it in fairness to the public?
And when those we expect to render a voice of reason at this time keep silent, are they doing it in cowardice?
My position is that we have a system of jurisprudence. Let’s allow the system to work. The legal process and Detroit voters will decide when Kilpatrick should vacate office.
The resignation question has been posed to me in several media interviews since the text messages emerged.
The first media call I received was from WWJ Newsradio 950 on the morning of Jan. 24 at 7:14 a.m. The reporter asked if I thought the mayor should resign. I said that was up to the legal process Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is putting in place. Perjury is what the mayor is accused, lying under oath.
It is a serious charge. The prosecutor is capable of handling it. I have previously criticized the prosecutor on other matters that led to a meeting she sought with me to explain her position on those issues. But I’m not going to get in front of her investigation of Kilpatrick and Beatty. It is a difficult situation for the top Black law enforcement officer in the county to investigate the top Black mayor in the state. But she was elected to do her job with diligence and fairness.
Worthy noted in a highly anticipated Jan. 24 press conference that she will not be rushed in her investigation.
That statement was a disapointment to those who were already asking for the mayor’s head.
The text messages as contradicted statements both Kilpatrick and Beatty made under oath during the whistle- blower lawsuit that they did not have an affair.
The suit involved two fired Detroit police officers, Gary Brown and Harold Nelthrope, and cost the city $9 million.
Worthy said, “News reports and newspaper articles are not investigations and they are not evidence. We cannot and will not at any time make any potential charging decision based on that.”
She also noted that her investigation would be fair, impartial and thorough.
“We will not be rushed by anyone or anything,” Worthy said. “We will only be influenced by the evidence and the facts that developed and nothing, I mean nothing, else.”
As the press briefing ended, one television reporter suggested there was no point in holding a press conference if it was going to be so brief.
Detroit attorney Reginald Turner, a darling of the corporate community (one of many said to be considering a run for mayor), said on a Sunday morning talk show that the relationship between Kilpatrick and Beatty was not the crux of the whistle-blower case. The officers’ case went to court on claims of police misconduct, and investigating an alleged a “wild party” at the Manoogian Mansion even though sexual text messages came up in the trial.
The Detroit Free Press said out of the 14,000 text messages, the ones published were considered by the paper to be relevant to the whistle-blower case. Others were too explicit, and some involved names of people the paper did not want to mention because of the embarrassment it could cause them.
But again, what else is out there that we don’t know?
Is the media building their case and giving the mayor an option to bail out before putting all that they have in the open?
Mr. Mayor, it’s time to talk. The more you wait, the greater the possibiliity that it will be too late. There are other crucial issues facing Detroit, such as an ailing economy. Foreclosure is another problem many residents are dealing with.
Leadership requires that in time of difficulty you speak to the people. Mistakes come with consequences, and this is one of those severe ones. But the business of the city must go on.
The Kilpatrick Detroiters know is one who faces the media and answers the tough questions. Where is that Kilpatrick?
Thomas Paine did say, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” But at the same time, these are the times that men need to step up and speak out about a crisis engulfing our often beleaguered city.
In all of this, it has to be understood that the role of the media is to fearlessly seek answers on behalf of the people, with fairness and integrity.
Thompson latest book, “A Matter of Black Transformation,” deals with Blacks, China and globalization. E-mail bthompson@michronicle.com. Read his blogs at bankolethompson.com/encounter.
