Kwame and Christine sitting in a tree. Say it with me, per-jur-y

This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant

Of course, some of us saw this coming. You don’t have a man like Hizzona’ Kwame Kilpatrick in office without knowing the man is dirty. I’ve always called the man a baby-eating thug, but that’s beside the point. You look at his mother and his mistress and it’s obvious he’s only looking out for himself. There is arrogance of a job well done, and arrogance of knowing that one can’t be touched. Kilpatrick and Beatty have flaunted the latter since the beginning of his administration. Their journey was almost over before it was begun with the revelation of the parties being held at the mansion and the body of stripper found shortly thereafter. Over this past summer from their positions on the witness stand they could see the hill where everything would be revealed. When his Communications Secretary was arrested for domestic violence and then promptly dropped from public view, the two held hands over a scented candle and said a prayer. When a traffic ticket issued to Beatty over the summer suspiciously disappeared and then magically reappeared a few weeks ago (which she actually showed up to pay in full), I turned to Doug and said “ something’s up. I was right. It was almost over and they knew it. They were trying to wash the walls and vacuum the carpets of their Crap Shack of Love in the hopes that the City of Detroit wouldn’t notice the nicks in the wallpaper, the holes in the carpet, or the fact that the major appliances were missing. Even if the Citizens noticed the damaged to the walls and floor, maybe they wouldn’t notice that the poorly constructed shanty had no roof and was missing a wall. Maybe they could charm their security deposit out of the City and quietly slip out of town before anyone really noticed.

The Detroit Free Press, the Mrs. Kravitz of Metro Detroit Media, put an end to that nonsense. Thank you editor, Paul Anger for all of your work. You did what we didn’t have to – pour over fourteen thousand (14,000) text messages between Beatty and Kilpatrick, graphically detailing their relationship. Graphically. Shudder with me now. They can stop reading those over the air any time now.

So last night it was revealed by the Detroit Free Press that over 14,000 text messages between the Mayor of the City of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, and his Chief of Staff, Christine Beatty, had an affair. While this is not ground-breaking news, as anyone can watch her behavior with the press and police to see her arrogance stems from deeper than the entitlement of her office, it directly affects the City where the City can least afford it. Over the summer the City fought and lost Whistleblower Lawsuit filed by former police officers who sued because they got too close to the affair to the tune of about nine million ($9,000,000) dollars. Actually the former police detective got too close to the truth after one of the first huge parties thrown by the Mayor at the Manoogian Mansion resulted in a dead stripper. Regardless, the two were fired and the two filed suit, alleging that they were fired because they asked too many questions about the party the mayor has always denied having, and they wanted justice for an exotic dancer the mayor wanted to forget was ever at the party he has always denied having.

A difficult time

These text messages aren’t as old as five or six years as Kilpatrick contends. They are as recent as this summer during the trial. These two were absolutely convinced they couldn’t be touched but they forgot one thing – their pagers and cell phones are paid for by the taxpayers of the City of Detroit and are therefore public property. Their affair isn’t a private matter as taxpayer money was used to fund hotel rooms and trips. Any trip taken together, any hotel room shared, car, cell phone, meal is paid for by the voters. I can hear them on the Listener Line of WWJ-AM 950 howling charges of racism, but really they are simply betrayed and too beaten to look the man in eye and say, “enough. Get out.”

“This isn’t a witchhunt. This is a tragedy” or perhaps it’s Stockholm’s Syndrome.

The voters are victims. You can’t complain about the State of the City being in the toilet if you have a Mayor doing everything in his power to move the City ahead. You can’t complain bout the young people not sticking around. The voters of the City of Detroit voted the man in. Twice. I said it in November of 2005 after you voted that man back into office – you get what you deserve. Before you point to the media staging a witchhunt, remember that no have no police officers. You have no fire department. You have no street lights. You do have blight, and abandoned buildings, and crime, and potholes and companies unwilling to business in the City of Detroit. You can’t play the victim card and then continue to defend the perpetrator.

The Mayor is currently asking for privacy in what is a very personal matter. You know what – if I were a taxpayer of the City, which I haven’t been in fifteen years (thank goodness) I would drive over to the Mayor’s residence and demand and explanation. As a taxpayer, I would be paying for his home, his cars, his drivers, and his seclusion, and he’d have to answer to me – his boss.

If and when the Mayor and his chief of staff are hauled before a grand jury to answer for perjury charges (any false statement produced by the mayor under oath constitutes perjury), they should be represented as Private Citizens paying for their legal fees out of their own pocket. I say perjury because over the summer, during the Whisltblower Trial, hey were both asked repeatedly if a) they were having an affair and b) if they sent or receive taxet messages referencing said affair. They both denied it. Actually, Beatty denied it, and indirectly Kilpatrick called her a whore, saying “I think it’s absurd to assert that every woman that works with a man is a whore.”  I guess we see how he views his relationship with her, eh? “There have always been strong women” around him, and when I look at Beatty I see his mother, Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick. Both are loud, arrogant, and – c’mon, I can say this – ghetto. For reasons known only to himself, Kilpatrick married his wife and not Christine, though maybe he saw his mother too, and now we’re getting into some pretty creepy territory. Instead of following his diseased little heart, he followed his mother’s corrupted political ambitions, married well, produced children and became Mayor. Christine has always been at his side, and his defense of her and their relationship has always been more than professional. They can now stand side by side in front of a judge

If the City had any sense – and it could happen, anything is possible – they’d demand his resignation as well as the removal of his staff. It’s time to clean house, air out the closets, and exorcise the ghosts. The City can’t afford to continue to pay for their parties and their love nests and represent them when they try to sidestep the law. Then the City can turn to former AG Mike Cox and ask him point blank what he knew about the parties and the stripper and how Kilpatrick bought his cooperation. How high does this go, and how long will it take the City to recover, if it ever does?

The City used by home, and once I even entertained moving back. I know the streets and the haunts and it has a scent in the summer that pulls at my soul. It’s a smell of home and comfort. I don’t anymore. I can’t speak fondly of it’s distorted beauty, it’s gorgeous homes, the neat little tucked away hot spots. You guys are on your own for this one. Do you think maybe if I turn my back you’ll entertain doing the right thing for a change?

…

I didn’t think so.