As I mentioned previously, America's first "hip-hop mayor," Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit (my home town), has recently admitted to having an affair with one of his staff members.  Similar to the case with former president Bill Clinton, Kilpatrick is now being charged with perjury, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office. If convicted, he will be expelled from office.

However, unlike the case of Clinton (and unlike the article claims: "The 37-year-old "Hip-Hop Mayor" who brought youth and vitality to the job in this struggling city of 900,000"), Kwame's entire career in office has been strewn with corruption. From the mysterious death of a stripper, to coke and embezzlement scandals, to threatening to shut down the Detroit Zoo (the oldest zoo in America and one of Detroit's only cultural attractions still alive today) as a method of getting his budget passed, Kilpatrick has mostly been a shitty mayor who has done little to help the city with the decline of the auto industry and the economic depression that's overtaken Michigan. In addition to notorious crime rates, Detroit doesn't even have decent public transportation, the "pride" of which being the people mover, a monorail train that runs a circular 2.9 miles.

I love Detroit. How could I not? It's my home, and also the home of what I think is probably the finest local music scene in the country (of course I'm biased). However, I've seen Kilpatrick do nothing positive for the city except worsen its reputation.

I'm personally conflicted. I think one's own sex life is personal and not the business nor concern of the public, and one should never lose their job because of what is, at the most, a marital problem. In the wake of all of these sex scandals, most notably that of Gov. Spitzer, it would be nice if the justice system would, for once, be blind to what is typically deemed "immoral." Also, while Kilpatrick has not been the best for Detroit (in my eyes), I doubt that bringing in someone less experienced as his successor would do any good either.

I swear, the city must be cursed.

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I still have no idea why this man was elected for a second term.

In a way reminiscent of the Monica Lewinski scandal, Kwame Kilpatrick, mayor of Detroit and America's first "hip-hop mayor" has been caught in a sex scandal with his chief of staff. Recently sexually explicit text messages from 2002-2003 between himself and Christine Beatty were uncovered. But unlike President Clinton, Kilpatrick has done little to improve the economic state of Detroit, which as been in steady decline since the 1960 race riot. His track record is already soiled with low-brow scandals involving naked parties, hard drugs, using city funding to purchase himself a new automobile or two, and threatening to cut funding for some of Detroit's few cultural highlights, such as the Detroit Zoo and annual Independence Day Fireworks, as a way of political persuasion. After a week of seclusion, Kilpatrick emerged to make a public apology.

During Wednesday's 10-minute appearance, Mr Kilpatrick apologised for "the embarrassment and disappointment" caused by recent events.

He did not refer to the text message scandal directly, but he apologised to his family and his supporters for the pain he had caused them.

"I want to make a public apology to my entire family, and specifically to the four people who I love the most in the world," he said, referring to his wife and three sons.

Mr Kilpatrick, 37, who could run for a third term next year, went on: "I am the mayor. I made the mistake," he said. "I am accountable."

But he rejected rumours that he might resign.

"I would never quit on you," he declared. "Ever."

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Faygo 313

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