Southfield (WWJ) -- State hearings to remove Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office will start next week.
WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick reports the decision released Tuesday morning means the hearings will start next Wednesday, September 3rd at 9 a.m.
The mayor's attorney, Sharon McPhail, had urged the governor to postpone the hearings asking that Granholm "decline to join the lynch mob." Click here to read all of the filings. (Document #57 details the request).
Detroit City Council members asked the governor in May to remove Mayor Kilpatrick for misleading the council into settling the whistle-blowers lawsuits for 8.4 million dollars.
It will be the first time since 1982 that a Michigan governor has considered the removal of an elected official. The target then was a township official who drank too much, not the high-profile leader of the state's largest city.
"A hearing on the merits is warranted,'' Granholm said in an 18-page order.
"We're delighted the governor has seen the situation as we do, and as needing to be resolved by a public hearing,'' said William Goodman, attorney for the council. "She has done the right thing, and we'll continue to do the right thing.''
In her order, Granholm rejected pleas from Kilpatrick's attorney to scratch the hearing while the mayor deals with two criminal cases. Sharon McPhail said she was disappointed with the decision.
"We intend to present evidence that proves the mayor did not misuse public funds for personal gain and that there was no failure to appropriately inform City Council about the facts of the court-ordered settlement,'' McPhail said.
Attorneys for the council and the mayor can call witnesses at the hearing, which will be held in Detroit. Granholm will be assisted by Gregory Holiday, a state administrative law judge.
It's unclear whether Kilpatrick, 38, will testify. Goodman said the governor has no subpoena power to compel people to appear.
If the mayor declines to testify, Granholm said she won't use that refusal against him. The governor, citing court precedent, also made clear that Kilpatrick has no remedy if she removes him.
"The governor is the sole tribunal in removal proceedings, with no right of appeal or review afforded the accused. ... If the governor acts within the law, the governor's decision is final,'' Granholm wrote.
Her order was signed Monday. Granholm declined to answer questions Tuesday in Denver where she is attending the Democratic National Convention.
Separately, in Wayne County Circuit Court, Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty are accused of perjury, obstruction of justice and other charges as a result of their testimony in the civil trial in 2007.
They denied having a relationship, but text messages published in January by the Detroit Free Press revealed an affair.
The mayor's legal troubles worsened in July. While two investigators in the perjury case tried to deliver a subpoena to a friend, Kilpatrick confronted them on the porch of his sister's home in Detroit.
Detective Brian White says the mayor shoved him into his partner and unleashed a string of F-words. Kilpatrick was charged with two felony counts of assault. His legal team claims it was a ``setup'' and promises a vigorous defense.
Over the past two weeks there have been reports that the mayor and other parties involved in two criminal cases and the removal hearings have been trying to work out some type of plea deal.
Stay tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest developments.
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