Kilpatrick Apologizes to Detroit, but Says: 'I Would Never Quit on You': Mayor Avoids Discussing Tri

Jan 31, 07:50 AM

Jan. 31--Speaking at length about the text message scandal for the first time publicly Wednesday as he held hands with his wife, Carlita, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick apologized repeatedly to residents, supporters, opponents, his wife and his three sons for what he called "the embarrassment and disappointment" of the past few days.

"I want to start tonight by saying to the citizens of this great city: I'm sorry," Kilpatrick said in a live evening television address from his church on the city's west side.

But in a nod to the legal peril he faces, the mayor never actually said what he was apologizing for.

The closest he came to addressing lying in court last summer about his affair with then-chief of staff Christine Beatty was a reference to "very grown-up things" he was forced to discuss with his twin 12-year-old sons in the past week.

Kilpatrick insisted he's running the city despite his troubles, and rejected rumors that he might resign. "I would never quit on you," he declared. "Ever."

Appearing subdued and at times somber and even shaken in what was a dramatic moment of recent city history, the mayor focused almost entirely on the impact of the controversy on his family and marriage.

"Most of all tonight, I want to make a public apology to my entire family, and specifically to the four people who I love the most in this world," Kilpatrick said.

In conveying his apologies to Carlita Kilpatrick, the mayor reminded his audience he had fallen in love with her when he was 19. As he said he was sorry, she touched his knee, and the mayor placed his hand on top of hers.

"We decided to build a family together and we did that. Our marriage has not been perfect, but it has been great," he said.

Probably the most electric moment in the speech came when the camera turned to Carlita Kilpatrick, and she talked about what it was like to have intimate issues regarding her husband laid bare to the world for the past week.

"Like all marriages, ours is not perfect," she said. "Like all people, we are not perfect, but through our commitment to God and each other, my husband and I will get through this. Yes, I am angry, I am hurt, and I am disappointed. But there is no question that I love my husband."

The mayor mostly has been out of sight for a week, since the Free Press reported it had obtained nearly 14,000 text messages from Beatty's city-issued pager in 2002-03. The messages showed that, contrary to Kilpatrick's and Beatty's sworn testimony in a police whistle-blower trial last summer, they were involved in a sexual affair.

The texts also showed they misled jurors when they testified they never fired Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown.

Jurors awarded Brown and another ex-cop, Harold Nelthrope, a combined $6.5 million, accepting their argument that Kilpatrick retaliated against them for pursuing a probe of the mayor's inner circle that might have exposed the affair.

In October, Kilpatrick abruptly agreed to settle that case, and another involving a third officer, for $8.4 million, rather than appeal. After legal fees, the litigation has cost the city more than $9 million.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said last week her office would investigate.

Kilpatrick did not mention Beatty in the speech. She resigned Monday. In avoiding talking about the details of the scandal, the mayor alluded to Worthy's criminal probe.

"Because there are legal matters pending at this moment, unfortunately I am unable to discuss any of those issues at this time," he said.

The mayor and his wife spoke to a lone television camera in a mostly empty banquet room in the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ on West 7 Mile. There was no audience, and reporters were barred from his address, which was aired live on Detroit radio and television.

Reaction to the speech from Detroit leaders seemed to depend on their prior feelings about Kilpatrick."I'm not ready to kick him to the curb just yet," said the Rev. Jim Holley, pastor of Little Rock Baptist Church.

Holley, a Kilpatrick supporter whom the mayor appointed to the Detroit police commission, said he was especially impressed with Carlita Kilpatrick. "If she can say what she said tonight and live with him, I ought to be able to live with him," he said.

City Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel, who is generally sympathetic to Kilpatrick, said: "I think that the mayor was genuine and heartfelt. I think that he conveyed an appreciation of the enormity of the situation that is facing his family and the city."

Councilman Kwame Kenyatta, who often has been critical of the mayor, called the speech moving, but noted Kilpatrick failed to address some of the most serious issues because of the criminal investigation. Kenyatta asserted Kilpatrick's vow never to quit on Detroiters fell flat.

"I think many people believe that when he did not safeguard the city coffers, he did quit on us," he said.

Emily Kunze, president of AFSCME Local 2920, whose approximately 300 members are clerical workers in the water and lighting departments, said the romantic relationship between Kilpatrick and Beatty is irrelevant, but added: "He did not address the fact that he wasted money, that he lied on the stand or that he lied to the public. I still wholeheartedly believe he should resign."

Kilpatrick said he told his sons that when you make a mistake, "you learn from it, you get up, you dust yourself off, and you keep moving forward."

He told Detroiters he is determined to keep moving forward, "to continue the tremendous progress we are making in this city."

The mayor concluded: "God bless you Detroit. I love you. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Contact BILL McGRAW at bmcgraw@freepress.com or 313-223-4781. Staff writers Joe Swickard, Suzette Hackney and Zachary Gorchow contributed to this report.

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