Prometheus 6

Mr. Webb said Mr. Kilpatrick, whose second term ends in 2009, would not resign, no matter how much pressure the Council applied.

“I have told the mayor, as his lawyer, that he should not consider that under any circumstances,” Mr. Webb said. “He’s made it clear to me that he’s never considered resigning. It has never been an option. It’s not going to be an option in the future.” 

Detroit City Council Votes to Request Removal of Mayor by Governor
By NICK BUNKLEY

DETROIT — The Detroit City Council voted on Tuesday to ask the governor of Michigan to oust the city’s mayor, Kwame M. Kilpatrick, who is charged with perjury and obstruction of justice.

Mr. Kilpatrick has defied a demand the City Council made in March that he resign after the disclosure of evidence that he tried to cover up an extramarital affair with his chief of staff.

The Council also voted Tuesday to try to force Mr. Kilpatrick from office on the ground that he violated Detroit’s city charter. Both resolutions passed 5 to 4.

The odds of success for either course of action are uncertain. Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm — a Democrat, like Mr. Kilpatrick — has the authority to remove public officials, though that power has rarely been used.

But Ms. Granholm has said she prefers to avoid getting involved in the standoff between Mr. Kilpatrick and the Council. And Mr. Kilpatrick’s efforts to portray himself as coming under attack from a news media-led “lynch mob” because he is black could make Ms. Granholm, who is white, loath to intercede.

Ms. Granholm, through a spokeswoman, Elizabeth Boyd, declined to comment Tuesday. “We do not want to compromise the process,” Ms. Boyd said.

Forcing the mayor to forfeit his job under the charter could require considerable time and money, and language in the charter regarding removal of an elected official is vague.

Councilwoman Sheila M. Cockrel, who supported the resolutions, said she would rather not spend the city’s meager resources trying to remove Mr. Kilpatrick, but said that he must be held accountable.

“This is about if Detroit is a city where the rule of law governs everyone, including elected officials,” Ms. Cockrel said. “As tragic as it is, this enormously talented, gifted, charismatic politician — who will not accept responsibility — needs to go.”

Also on Tuesday, the Council approved by 7 to 2 a resolution censuring the mayor.