Jennifer Granholm Sets Date for Possible Hearing on Detroit Mayor

CHICAGO - Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm this week announced an accelerated schedule for holding a possible hearing on whether to remove embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office.

Granholm sent a letter this week to the Detroit City Council announcing a date of Sept. 3 for a hearing on the mayor's removal, if she deems it necessary. Granholm also pushed forward to Aug. 22 a deadline for lawyers on both sides to file legal briefs in the case. The hearing is part of a request by the council that the governor remove Kilpatrick from office, and is separate from the council's own removal efforts.

Granholm's letter to the City Council said the accelerated schedule is in the public's best interest.

The move comes a week after a fresh scandal erupted around Kilpatrick, who is facing eight felony counts ranging from perjury to misconduct of office stemming from testimony in a whistleblower's trial last year. Last week a pair of law enforcement officials said Kilpatrick attacked them physically and verbally as they attempted to serve a subpoena on a friend of Kilpatrick's. In response, a Wayne County judge restricted Kilpatrick's travel and ordered him to pay $7,500 and undergo random drug testing.

The City Council has scheduled its own public hearing for Aug. 8 on city forfeiture rules to determine whether it has the authority to remove the mayor.

If Granholm decides to hold her hearing, it would be held at 9 a.m. local time on Sept. 3.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Bankruptcy
MORE FROM BOND BUYER