Detroit (WWJ/AP) -- Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm opened an extraordinary public hearing in Detroit Wednesday to determine whether Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick committed misconduct and should be removed from office.
Meanwhile, the mayor was expected to plead guilty to perjury charges at 9 a.m. on Thursday. More on this.
Wednesday's hearing comes at the request of Detroit City Council, which feels that Kilpatrick misled members when he settled lawsuits with two former Detroit police officers for more than $8 million. Kilpatrick's lawyers failed to persuade courts to stop the process.
The mayor wasn't present for the hearing, which adjourned for the day at around 6 p.m. The hearing was expected to resume Thursday at 11 a.m.
Governor Granholm opened the hearing at 9:01 a.m. Wednesday, with some brief remarks: "The burden of proof is sufficient evidence satisfactory to the governor. ... This is not a criminal trial. This is not a civil trial,'' Granholm said.
Listen to the governor's remarks in full:
In opening arguments, city council attorney Bill Goodman said he believes the mayor loves the city, but that's no excuse, "To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, 'Men often kill the things they love.' Be assured that this city has not been killed yet, but it is gravely wounded, and the mayor must be removed," Goodman said.
"These are not minor transgressions, Governor Granholm. They have brought this city to a halt,'' he said.
Listen to Goodman's full statement:
Mayor Kilpatrick's attorney Sharon McPhail fired back that she believe the state does not have the power to remove the mayor from office. "The mayor, who has not been convicted of any crime and who is still presumed innocent, believes that he must continue to do the work that he was elected to do by the citizens of Detroit," McPhail said.
"It's too stupid to be plausible'' that Kilpatrick had a secret pact to cover up embarrassing text messages, McPhail said She warned the governor that removing the mayor would have a chilling effect on officials statewide. "You will not see a single persuasive document in the (council's) entire case,'' McPhail said.
Listen to McPhail's full statement:
A lot of ground covered in the testimony from attorney Mike Stefani Wednesday afternoon. Stefani talked about why the text messages were needed especially in the case involving former Detroit Police Deputy Chief Harold Brown. "Part of the elements of the Whistleblower [case] was we had to show that there was a causal relationship between his termination and his reporting," Stefani said.
"So, we wanted to show that the real reason he was fired was because he was reporting on the wrongdoing on the part of two of the mayor's bodyguards, and was also investigating the Manoogian party," he said.
Listen to a clip of Stefani's testimony:
The hearing was expected to continue until 6 p.m. Wednesday evening, and reconvene at around 11 a.m. Thursday.
The hearing is being held at the state building in the New Center area. A room that usually holds Gaming Control Board hearings has been converted into a hearing room. Governor Granholm is sitting between an American flag and a blue State of Michigan flag.
The governor will be asked to resolve two questions pertaining to the mayor:
1) Did the mayor authorize settlements in the Whistleblower lawsuit involving former Detroit police officers Gary Brown and Walt Harris to further his personal and private interests? And
2) Did the mayor conceal from or fail to disclose to City Council information material to its review and approval of the settlements.
Under the Michigan Constitution, the governor has the power to expel a public official for misconduct. But Kilpatrick says Granholm is biased. His lawyers also have attacked the law as vague.
Granholm is being assisted by Gregory Holiday, a state administrative law judge.
The Governor rejected pleas from McPhail to suspend the process while the mayor deals with his criminal cases. It's unclear whether the mayor will testify. Goodman said the governor has no subpoena power, and witnesses must appear voluntarily.
Despite reports that she was in the hearing on Wednesday, the mayor's mother ,Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, said she will not attend any of the governor's proceedings.
Media across the state and country are following the developments. Governor press secretary Liz Boyd said the New York Times and Reuters were among those sending reporters to Detroit. Reporters from Lansing and Grand Rapids also were expected to attend.
In a separate case, Kilpatrick and Beatty are accused of perjury, obstruction of justice and other charges as a result of their testimony in a civil trial in 2007. They denied having a relationship, but text messages published in January by the Detroit Free Press revealed a torrid affair.
To finally have this take place?By the way Obama HAS spoken by saying stay away from ME Kwame!
09/03/2008 4:09PM
City Resident
The sooner they get him out, the better. He has stolen more money in more ways than anyone can count. Why does the Free Press not report anymore the 27 Lear Jet trips taken for free on city contractors private jet to Flordia?
09/03/2008 6:26PM
poor guy?
He's richer than you'll ever be. I don't feel sorry for him one bit! Poor guy brought this on himself and now he has to stop pointing the finger everywhere else and face the music.
09/03/2008 7:45PM
lies
is there any proof that Kwame ever told the truth about anything?
09/04/2008 6:30AM
City Resident
I hope that today is his last day! It should've been a long time ago. How many people has he dragged into this beginning with Christine Beatty. He is just like a drug dealer - it's all good until he gets caught! He has used city money for his own personal gain and how many homeless people do we have in the city? Seems like he thinks of himself and no one else. The city WILL be a better place without him in office. All his appointees/family involved with him and supported his behavior should also be removed from whatever position they hold so that our city will be known because of what it is and not because of the no good KWAME. He has not given the city a good name. This is history in the making and too bad that Detroit is now a household name but because of a bad reputation and not a good. Once he's gone, the city will begin healing!
09/03/2008 9:31AM
Mayor Removal Hearing
Will Governor Granholm decide to remove Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatick from office? Should she? Comment here:
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