Beleaguered former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has written a tell-all book, describing how he wound up in jail and blaming many of his troubles on a number of “enemies” who were threatened by his election. “Their bottom lines for me, then, became simple. Get rid of me. And they’re not finished,” he writes.
“Like any political saga of epic proportions, there are no simple explanations for the direction in which my career went. But there are two sides to the story and probably three. The world has heard the press’ side for almost 10 years, and it’s caused a tidal wave of sentiment against me,” Kilpatrick writes in the memoir, according to excerpts published by the Detroit Free Press.
In January 2008, a series of steamy text messages between Kilpatrick and his Chief of Staff Christine Beatty contradicted both of their testimonies under oath that they had not had an affair. Kilpatrick did jail time after pleading guilty to perjury and obstruction of justice, and then for violating the terms of his parole. In December of last year he was indicted on federal corruption charges under RICO, regarding an alleged plot to extort millions from city contractors. Kilpatrick pleaded not guilty in January.
In “Surrendered! The Rise, Fall and Revelation of Kwame Kilpatrick,” due out in August, Kilpatrick claims that he only lied under oath to cover up his affair — but the rest of his troubles were the result of a cabal of forces in Michigan, rooting for him to fail. Via the AP, he writes that “when I perjured myself, I gave my enemies a lane. And they turned that lane into a highway.”
“My intent entering office was to empower Detroiters,” Kilpatrick writes, “and my actions heading into my second term suggested that we had the ability to do it. And that threatened too many people’s bottom line. Their bottom lines for me, then, became simple. Get rid of me. And they’re not finished.”
Among his enemies, according to the Free Press:
Kilpatrick takes shots at Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who pursued criminal charges against him; judges who oversaw the criminal proceedings; former businessman and current Mayor Dave Bing, who suggested in 2008 that Kilpatrick resign; and former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who presided over a hearing into whether she should remove him from office.
“I’m telling this story because what you think you know about Kwame Kilpatrick is largely inaccurate. I’m not a thug. I’m not arrogant. But I am flawed and passionate. I did make mistakes that deserve to be aired out. But I’ll be damned if I deserve to be here, in a Level 4 maximum security prison,” he writes.
