Detroit Mayor's Job on Line in Hearing Today

Unusual step could boot Detroit mayor from office for 3 years

(NEWSER) - Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm will hold hearings next week on allegations that Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick misled City Council for personal gain, the Detroit News reports. The proceedings, which could remove Kilpatrick from public office for 3 years, are above and beyond criminal perjury and assault charges the beleaguered mayor faces. More»

Plea-deal felon apologizes, talks of his 'standards for excellence'

(NEWSER) - Hours after pleading guilty to two felony perjury charges, disgraced Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick gave a televised address that the Detroit Free Press called part apology, part campaign speech. "This city always gets up," said Kilpatrick, pointing out the "standards for excellence" he has established. "I want to tell you, Detroit, that you done set me up for a comeback.” He will step down, serve four months in jail and give up his pension as part of a plea deal. More»

Prison now appears unavoidable for embattled Kilpatrick

(NEWSER) - Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is weighing whether to enter a plea deal this morning that will cost him jail time, the Detroit Free Press reports. A lawyer for Kilpatrick, who faces felony perjury charges, said Kilpatrick was negotiating jail time, probation and retaining the right to run for future office. The mayor is due in court today, but a hearing could be canceled if he agrees to a plea deal and resigns. More»

Granholm heads list of Democrats' problems in vital state

(NEWSER) - Michigan has gone blue in every presidential election since 1988, and it should have been an easy state for Barack Obama to win in November. But the presumptive nominee has an albatross around his neck: Jennifer Granholm, the intensely unpopular Democratic governor. Frustration with Granholm is just one of the factors imperiling Obama's campaign there, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»

(USER SUBMITTED) - Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick can't catch a break. Currently serving at least 14 months in prison for parole violations stemming from a 2008 conviction of perjury, misconduct in office and obstruction of justice from the so-called Text Messaging Scandal, he's now been indicted by a grand jury on 19 counts of fraud and tax evasion. According to prosecutors, Kilpatrick failed to report over $640,000 of taxable income that he received while mayor of Detroit, and spent on things like golf lessons, a Cadillac, and summer camp for his kids. More»