Detroit mayor and city council at loggerheads

Tensions are rising between Detroit’s mayor and city council over the text-messaging scandal.

On Monday the council refused to hear Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s budget proposal address. Kilpatrick called the council’s action “childish.”

This happened in the wake of the text-messaging scandal that has resulted in 8 criminal counts against the mayor and 7 against his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, including obstruction of justice and perjury. Text messages sent between Beatty and Kilpatrick contradicted their testimony under oath regarding the police whistle-blower case earlier this year that cost the city $8.4 million in a settlement.

City Council President Ken. Cockrel Jr. said the council’s refusal to hear the proposal was a response to Kilpatrick’s saying council members were focusing on the text-messaging scandal instead of doing their jobs. “The budget process will continue,” Cockrel said. “The only thing we chose to do today was not to hear the mayor’s budget address,” he said.

None of the council members informed Kilpatrick beforehand that they did not want to hear his presentation. They waited until he sat down, then Cockrel announced that they would not be hearing the proposal. Kilpatrick immediately called a brief press conference to outline the details of the budget since all but three members of the council would not hear it.

“It’s a political bazaar,” said L.N. Rock,  political consultant and blog administrator. “The reactions of the city council are legitimate, but should be more controlled.”

Here is a brief summary of the latest occurrences surrounding City Hall and the text-messaging scandal:

• City council refused to hear Mayor Kilpatrick’s budget proposal Monday morning. Tension had been building in the days leading up to the hearing and it was the first time he’d faced the council since they voted for him to resign last month.
• Kilpatrick’s travel bonds were clarified Friday when Judge Paula Humphries ruled that he is permitted to travel within the country and abroad for business without asking for permission from the court. He will need permission, however, if he leaves the state for personal reasons.
• There was an upset at a city council hearing Friday when President Pro Tem Monica Conyers interrupted City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. and it spiraled into a verbal dispute.
• The dispute Friday was not the first in City Hall since the scandal broke. There were reports of a dispute in February between Conyers and a staffer to the mayor, DeDan Milton. Threats flew between the two of them, according to those in attendance at the February meeting.

Below is a list of links that further describe the recent events surrounding City Hall:

• Detroit City Council refuses to hear Mayor Kilpatrick’s budget proposal Monday morning
  This was the first time Kilpatrick faced the council since March 19 when they voted 7-1 for him to resign
• Kilpatrick’s travel bond was clarified in a hearing Friday.
  He can travel domestically and internationally on city business
• City Council members Monica Conyers and Ken Cockrel Jr. shout at one another during a City Council hearing
  A City council hearing was interrupted when the two council member’s bickering turned into a verbal confrontation
• Threats between Kilpatrick staffer DeDan Milton and Councilwoman Monica Conyers in February cause an upset
  The argument began after Conyers asked that the General Retirement System board sponsor a study about a potential investment.