CHICAGO - A state district court judge yesterday ordered Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to jail for violating a travel ban that was part of the indicted mayor's bond terms.
The order came after Kilpatrick failed to inform the court of a visit to Windsor, Ontario, that was part of his effort to advance an increasingly unlikely plan to sell the city's half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel to plug the city's budget deficit.
Kilpatrick's attorneys started the day by announcing they would forgo a preliminary hearing and head straight to trial on perjury and other charges. The surprise move sparked speculation it was an attempt to forestall the release of embarrassing text messages during the preliminary hearing scheduled for early September.
In his absence, Detroit will be run by the mayor's chief of staff, Kandia Milton, who was appointed deputy mayor about a week ago. Kilpatrick's lawyers appealed the order immediately after the judge imposed it. Kilpatrick can leave jail if another judge overturns the order or he pays $75,000. A circuit court judge is expected to hear the appeal this morning.
"As there is in any city, a deputy mayor is appointed to oversee city operations in the mayor's absence," said a release from the mayor's office issued a few hours after he was jailed. "Mayor Kilpatrick has also appointed very talented directors and deputy directors to run the day-to-day operations of our city departments. Trash will continue to be collected, recreation centers will remain open, grass will be cut, and fires will be extinguished. Once again, residents can be assured government will continue to operate as usual."
In ordering the mayor to jail, Detroit 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles said he had to treat the public official like any "Joe Six-Pack" defendant before him. Prior to the judge's decision, Kilpatrick had apologized for violating his bond terms, saying: "I've been living in an incredible state of pressure and scrutiny."
A number of regional leaders who had previously kept mum on the mayor's legal woes issued statements saying he should step down. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano called for the mayor to resign or take a leave of absence. "This is paralyzing the city and the region" Ficano said in a statement.
Kilpatrick's trip to Windsor was an attempt to move forward his long-touted plan to sell the city's half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. The mayor and City Council remain largely locked in a battle over whether to sell the city's half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. The mayor has touted the plan as a way to raise $65 million and cover the city's general fund deficit, which is currently estimated at around $58 million. In light of the Detroit City Council's lingering opposition to the plan, Windsor public officials recently started questioning its viability. At the hearing yesterday, Kilpatrick indicated to the judge that the plan was back in play.
The mayor's brief imprisonment is unlikely to impact the city's credit in the near-term, said at least one credit analyst. The bigger impact will come as Kilpatrick faces possible prison time for the felony charges, said the analyst.
In late May, Moody's Investors Service downgraded to Baa3 its rating on the city's unlimited tax general obligation debt, and cut to Ba1 - junk bond status - the rating on the city's limited-tax debt, largely citing the city's fiscal problems. While Moody's did not cite political pressures and battles in its downgrade, a recent Fitch Ratings report noted that it is "concerned that the current political environment in the city may make adoption and implementation of the fiscal 2009 budget challenging."
Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty face a total of 12 felony counts ranging from perjury to misconduct of office stemming from testimony in a whistleblower trial, the firing of three police officers, and a subsequent $8.4 million settlement of one of the lawsuits.
