Mar 18, 2008 4:25 pm US/Eastern
Detroit Mayor Rejects Request For Resignation
DETROIT (AP) ―
A defiant Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick quickly rejected the City Council's call Tuesday for him to resign because of accusations that he lied under oath about not having an affair.
"You take a whole day to discuss an issue like this," he said. "My reaction is: This is over. It has no effect. It's not binding. Let's get back to work."
The resolution, passed 7-1, amounted to a "no-confidence" vote because the council lacks the power to force Kilpatrick to step down.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is investigating whether the mayor and former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty lied under oath when they testified in a whistle-blowers' lawsuit that they had not had a physical relationship.
Kilpatrick has been dogged by media reports about steamy text messages the two exchanged that suggest a romantic relationship.
The mayor said he could not comment on the text messages on Beatty's pager. Beatty resigned from her post in February.
City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. would like Kilpatrick to do the same. "The message is, it's time to call it quits," he said.
The lone vote against the resolution was cast by President Pro Tem Monica Conyers, the wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers. One councilwoman was absent because of illness.
"I believe that we have to do what's fair," Monica Conyers said following the vote. "Based upon the evidence that was presented to me, there's nothing there yet for us to say 'resign."'
The council considered the issue two weeks ago but postponed a vote because some members said they needed more information before they could decide what to do.
"A whole lot has changed between then and now. ... My vote is not an indictment of the mayor so much as it is a request of the citizens to get back to work," said Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins, who supported the measure.
Worthy has said she expects a decision next week on whether she will seek perjury charges against Kilpatrick and Beatty.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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