Apology Accepted, but Behavior Isn't

Jan 31, 08:21 AM

Jan. 31--Metro Detroiters cut Kwame Kilpatrick, the rueful husband, some slack Wednesday night but gave the besieged politician a harsher assessment.

"I wanted Kwame Kilpatrick the mayor," said Ron Liscombe, a 34-year-old Detroit attorney.

Across the metro area, residents watched the mayor's televised address and many said he still has a daunting chore reestablishing his credibility after the Free Press revealed text messages last week between Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, showing the two lied under oath at a police whistle-blower trial.

The messages showed an intimate relationship between Kilpatrick and Beatty, contrary to their denials last summer on the witness stand in a case the city settled for $9 million.

Detroiter Erica Nelson said she wasn't sure how to take the mayor's first public appearance since the scandal broke last week.

"He's a politician, and you really can't say whether he's truthful," said Nelson, 24. "But I do accept his apology. Based on what he said about pushing for the city, only time will tell."

Her father, Eric, said Kilpatrick didn't seem as credible.

"It's hard for me to forget some of the things that were said in the past," he said.

In Sterling Heights, Diane Murphy, 42, said Kilpatrick's address fell short.

"Perjury's not private," Murphy said.

"I wanted him to say, 'I lied and I'm sorry. I screwed up,' " she said. "In his personal life, he may be squared away, but not his professional life."

She was surprised to see Kilpatrick's wife, Carlita, in the broadcast: "At first, I thought, 'Why would you drag your wife into that?' But then he apologized to her, and she deserved that public apology."

John Myers, 42, a general contractor from Pleasant Ridge, asked: "How do you look at the people of Detroit who can't afford to take a bus to work or can't afford textbooks for their children and say, 'I lost the city $9 million?' "

At the Sweetwater Tavern in Detroit's Bricktown, Laurie Jackson was most impressed that Kilpatrick asked the media to focus on him.

"He was man enough to ask them to leave his family and children out of it," said Jackson, 30, of Detroit.

Jackson also sympathized with Beatty, who resigned.

"It's unfortunate that she had to go," she said, "but I guess somebody had to go to neutralize the situation."

Reginald Eadie, 39, of Canton called Beatty a scapegoat who played her part.

But he said Kilpatrick should not resign: "He said exactly what he needed to say. He's an expert at satisfying the ears."

Eadie called Carlita Kilpatrick the "true hero out of all this" who "relentlessly showed her dedication to her husband."

Toi Johnson of Detroit was incredulous. "It's a shame what a woman will put up with to be the first lady of the city of Detroit," Johnson said.

Liscombe said he did not expect Kilpatrick to admit lying on the stand, but "it's not about his family -- it's about the city."

He also said Kilpatrick should have spoken up sooner.

"I think he's doing a good job policy wise, but at what point do you let your personal foibles get in the way?" he said.

Contact SUZETTE HACKNEY at 313-222-6614 or shackney@freepress.com. Staff writers Ben Schmitt, Amber Hunt, Steve Neavling and Naomi Patterson contributed to this report.

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