After a firestorm of controversy surrounding the text messaging scandal that seemed to peak when Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy announced charges against Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty, the news coverage and overall talk in the community has really calmed down. It looks like Kilpatrick's strategy of riding out the storm is already paying off for him -- and I for one think that he'll still be the mayor through the election in November 2009.
It's really anybody's best guess on how the legal proceedings will go and it should surprise no one if a big enough technicality is exploited in court that would allow Kilpatrick to wriggle off the hook and escape any prison time. And really -- wouldn't the biggest punishment for Kwame be to lose the very power that he seems to crave more than anything else? What good would prison do to "rehabilitate" him (if proven guilty of course)?
Trying to look past the specific details of this case, there is one big thing that troubles me about our political system. Although our system of justice is supposed to embrace the innocent until proven guilty mantra, there has got to be an easier way to force people in political office to go on some kind of leave while their court cases are decided. I still don't see how someone accused of abusing the power of an elected office can continue to do that same job with no easy recourse for the people to make a temporary change. I'm not suggesting locking up politicians accused of wrongdoing in office before their trials but at the same time, how is it they can stay on the job and possibly expose the people to even more crimes?
I know getting a recall election in a city the size of Detroit isn't easy. But I'm surprised that only one (failed) attempt has been made so far. Out of 900,000+ residents, there isn't a qualified person, or group of people that are willing to at least try to organize a recall drive? Or maybe it's just that people realize that the next election for mayor is less than 18 months away.
At any rate, unless there are some new earth shattering revelations between now and the time the trial begins, this story has definitely moved from page 1A to the back of the news section and soon may fall off the radar entirely.
Amazing.
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