Motown Political Overhaul on the Horizon
April 3, 2008
We can say it: a city like Detroit is in need of serious change. Beyond the Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick disaster, the city is mired in unemployment, crime and poverty. So, folks are considering bids against the Kilpatrick Political Family, both the Mayor and his mother, Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI) who is perceived as somewhat ineffective (as both Caucus chair and Congresswoman).
Still, it’s funny that it took Kilpatrick’s troubles to spark interest in replacing him. As if Detroit’s own troubles weren’t enough to inspire the sort of passion for change we’re now catching wind of.
Mark Hicks in the Detroit News reports:
City Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. says he is considering running for mayor.
“It’s definitely something I’m thinking about but I haven’t made any formal decision,” he said late Wednesday. “I’m not in a position to say I’m a candidate for 2009.”
The topic arose this week during a Michigan Municipal League conference in Lansing when a reporter asked about his plans.
Cockrel, who would step in if Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick leaves office, acknowledged last month he was drafting plans to run City Hall in case of the mayor’s resignation or removal.
Kilpatrick can be removed from office by the City Council only if he is convicted of a felony.
Political opportunism is contagious in Motor City. Robert Snell and Charlie LeDuff also report in the Detroit News:
Fired Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown, fresh from beating Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick during the police whistle-blower trial, is mulling a campaign for mayor or against the mayor’s mother, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick.
Brown and one of his consultants confirmed today that polling will begin soon to gauge his support for a run at mayor next year or a campaign this year for the 13th District, which spreads from the Grosse Pointes to Downriver.
Brown insists it’s not personal and would only discuss his interest in taking on Cheeks Kilpatrick, 62. But his candidacy could turn what has traditionally been a campaign cakewalk for the six-term congresswoman into a bitter race with a subplot of the decorated deputy police chief against the mother of the man who ended his law enforcement career.
