DETROIT (AP) -- Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will be conspicuously absent when Barack Obama makes his first campaign stop in the city since effectively wrapping up the Democratic presidential nomination.
The embattled mayor, facing criminal charges and public scrutiny in an embarrassing text-messaging sex scandal, has decided not to attend Monday night's rally at Joe Louis Arena.
``I would love for Barack Obama, the next president of the United States, to have this opportunity free from all of the scrutiny that may come from the Kwame Kilpatrick moment,'' Kilpatrick said Friday.``I will not be there. It's my choice.''
Kilpatrick was booed heavily last week during a public rally downtown for the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.
In a city where more than 80 percent of its 900,000 residents is black, Kilpatrick could be key in pushing voter turnout for the black presidential candidate. The black mayor acknowledged as much Friday and repeated his support for Obama.
``I've had numerous conversations with Senator Obama,'' he said. ``We have a very good relationship.''
Kilpatrick and former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty face a Sept. 22 preliminary examination on perjury and other charges. They are accused of lying under oath last year during a whistle-blowers' trial about having an intimate relationship and their roles in the firing of a Detroit police officer.
Sexually explicit text messages left on Beatty's city-issued pager have contradicted that testimony. Excerpts of those messages first were published in late January by the Detroit Free Press. They deny the charges.
Kilpatrick also is under pressure by the Detroit City Council to leave office.
The council has asked Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to remove the mayor for misconduct. It also plans to begin forfeiture of office proceedings against Kilpatrick early next month.
Read up on the Mayor's Text Message Scandal at this link.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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