Council Silences Embattled Detroit Mayor

The City Council rebuffed embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s attempts to propose a budget on Monday, the latest sign of increasingly frosty relations between the mayor and city leaders.

Kilpatrick, who is fighting perjury and other criminal charges, walked in to the Council chambers and greeted each member with handshakes or hugs before he prepared to speak.

Council President Ken Cockrel then informed him that he and the other members had agreed not to hear from the mayor. He swiftly called for an end to the meeting, leaving Kilpatrick shocked and seemingly embarrassed.

“This could have been done in my office,” Kilpatrick told the Council before heading out into the hallway, where he called the council’s actions “childish.”

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Kilpatrick and former chief of staff Christine Beatty are awaiting a June 9 preliminary examination on perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice charges.

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