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1. Herman Cain

Once Herman Cain decided to run for president, he not only aligned himself with the Tea Party, but also defended them and the Republicans against charges of racism. And to add insult to injury, Cain proved that he didn’t have any knowledge of foreign policy and touted his “9-9-9″ deal like it was a special campaign for pizza.  Then came his sexual harassment allegations, which he adamantly denied with his trademark hubris. What finally brought Cain’s sideshow to a close, though, was Ginger White saying she had a 13-year affair with the psuedo-politician.

2. Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne, a rapper who is marketed to young children, regularly brags about his gang ties, guns and use of cough syrup as an illegal drug. While he may occasionally have a politically significant song, such as “Georgia Bush,” the majority of his offerings are misogynistic and related to gangs and drugs. The biggest embarrassment about Lil Wayne is not just the rapper himself, but the mainstream media company that promotes and markets him to children.

3. Kwame Kilpatrick

Kwame Kilpatrick got out of jail this year but still remains in the news. While the once-promising “Hip-Hop Mayor of Detroit” was lucky to have his killing-a-stripper case thrown out, yet another stripper claims she was paid $1,000 to perform at his mansion for an alleged drug-fueled party. Rather than atone for his past transgressions, Kilpatrick continues to blame his troubles on a “conspiracy against him.”

4. Sam Hurd

As a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, Sam Hurd had a signing bonus of more than $1 million. Yet, Hurd chose to allegedly enter the Chicago drug game in spite of his already lucrative career  with the NFL. While many people in the inner city turn to drug dealing due to the lack of opportunities, Hurd had a job that put him on easy street. Hurd could have easily used his money to start a legitimate business, but instead, he reportedly decided to poison his community.

5. Brittany Smith and Jabrai Copney

Brittany Smith (pictured) was a senior at Harvard about to graduate with a world of opportunities waiting for her. One week before Smith was to graduate, boyfriend Jabrai Copney, a talented musician who had produced a song for New Edition at the age of 14, decided to rob a pound of marijuana from a local dealer. The robbery went bad and Copney wound up shooting and killing the man. Since Smith helped Copney hide the gun and escape from campus, she is serving two years in prison, and Copney is in jail for life.

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The Detroit Free Press is reporting allegations against former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick that came to light after a close friend was charged with money laundering.

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The allegations were revealed in a superseding indictment filed in U.S. District Court in the case against Bobby Ferguson, a close friend of Kilpatrick.

The charges [against Ferguson] are related to Ferguson’s alleged attempts to conceal $1.7 million in extorted payments that he received for no-show work from a contractor.

Today’s indictment also offered a new, stunning allegation that Kilpatrick pocketed a $10,000 kickback in a restroom.

Read more at The Root

U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen said in his opinion that the attorney representing Tamara Greene’s three children failed to prove the city or Kilpatrick interfered with the probe into her slaying.

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Greene, who performed under the name Strawberry, was rumored to have danced in 2002 at a never-proven party at the mayor’s official Manoogian Mansion residence. She was shot multiple times in April 2003 while sitting with a male acquaintance in a car outside her Detroit home. The man was wounded but survived.

Rosen agreed with lawyers for the city and Kilpatrick that there was “no evidentiary basis” for a legal finding that Kilpatrick obstructed or interfered with the investigation into the murder.

Kilpatrick resigned as mayor in 2008 after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice in state court. He served time in a county jail but later spent 14 months in state prison for violating his probation in the earlier case. He was paroled Aug. 2, but faces a federal corruption trial in 2012 on fraud, tax and racketeering conspiracy charges.

Rosen said lawyers for Greene’s family seem to believe that Kilpatrick must have interfered with the murder investigation because he regularly meddled with top police brass when he was mayor. But the judge said past wrongs don’t necessarily fit new cases.

Rosen said there is a “dearth of evidence” connecting Kilpatrick or any of his allies to any interference with the homicide investigation.

Kilpatrick repeatedly has denied interfering with Greene case and that there ever was a party.

“For what it is worth, it seems unlikely that it will ever be established with any degree of certainty whether this rumored party, or something like it, actually took place,” Rosen wrote. “The witness accounts produced by plaintiffs lack specificity, rest to some extent on inadmissible hearsay, and contradict one another in various respects.”

“On the other hand, it seems fairly well documented at this point that Defendant Kilpatrick kept an active social calendar during his days as mayor of Detroit. Nonetheless, whether this particular party occurred at this particular locale at this particular time is likely to remain an unsolved mystery.”

The court gave the Greene family’s attorney, Norman Yatooma, every opportunity to prove his case, said James Thomas, Kilpatrick’s attorney.

“There was not one bit of evidence, after 41 depositions and tens of thousands of pages of discovery,” Thomas said. “There clearly are no facts, and as a result, all these years of speculation, all these years of wondering now come to the culmination that … the decision is there is no case.

“We’re happy that, at least at this stage that it’s over.”

John Schapka, supervising assistant corporation counsel for the city, also said Yatooma lacked evidence to support his claim that Kilpatrick, his aides and others interfered with the Greene probe.

Yatooma, who was on vacation when Rosen released his ruling, said he already is working on an appeal.

“I’m shocked. I’m disappointed. I don’t understand it,” he said. “We weren’t there asking the judge for a check. My young clients lost their mom. Let them go before a jury of other moms and dads and let them decide.”

Disgraced former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick held court on a variety of subjects on Tuesday night, including his political future, as he promoted his new book. Kilpatrick insists that he is no longer a politician.

“I don’t want to be your leader right now,” Kilpatrick said in front of an estimated 1,100 people at the Citadel of Praise church in northwest Detroit. ” I’m not running for nothing but cover. I’m working on Kwame being Kwame.”

RELATED: Ex Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick freed from prison

The event, billed as “Real Talk with Kwame Kilpatrick”, was closed to local media cameras and moderated by Rev. Spencer Ellis. Ellis insisted that the interview was not a “pro-Kilpatrick rally”, but as he took the stage at the church, Ellis proclaimed, “he’s still your mayor.”

“My biggest fall (from grace) is what I let happen to my character,” Kilpatrick said. “I thought that ‘Mayor’ was my name.”

Read more at TheGrio

A relative escorted Kilpatrick from a Southern Michigan Prison facility in Jackson to a sport utility vehicle waiting outside. Kilpatrick smiled but did not address reporters as he climbed into the SUV, which headed toward the Detroit area under police escort.

In a statement issued ahead of his release, Kilpatrick thanked all those who prayed for him and said he would speak openly about his time behind bars after he has reunited with his family. He planned to rejoin his wife and three sons near Dallas, where his parole will be overseen by Texas authorities.

“Detroit, I will return to speak frankly with you about this experience because it has affected all of us,” he said in the statement.

Before leaving the prison, Kilpatrick changed into his own clothing: jeans and a peach-colored shirt, state Corrections Department spokesman John Cordell said. Kilpatrick’s brother-in-law, Daniel Ferguson, and a lawyer greeted the former mayor and walked him outside, Cordell said.

Cordell said Kilpatrick told them: “It’s good to be out. I’m on my way.”

The 41-year-old Kilpatrick was released on parole but still faces a federal corruption trial that could send him back to prison.

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and resigned from office as part of a plea deal in 2008. A judge found he had lied at a civil trial to cover up an extramarital affair with his chief of staff – in a lawsuit that cost Detroit $8.4 million.

The former mayor was imprisoned in May 2010 for failing to disclose assets and surrender sufficient funds that could have reduced his $1 million restitution to the city. Kilpatrick still owes Detroit more than $800,000 and a judge recently ordered that all profits from his upcoming book be placed in escrow to help pay off the debt.

The Wayne County prosecutor’s office opposed Kilpatrick’s release.

His federal trial on fraud, tax crimes and a racketeering conspiracy is scheduled to start in September 2012. In an 89-page indictment filed in December, the government described a pay-to-play scheme in which Kilpatrick and his father, Bernard, took kickbacks and bribes to steer city business to certain contractors.

Both men have pleaded not guilty. Bernard Kilpatrick is not in custody.

People charged with felonies typically aren’t granted parole but the U.S. attorney’s office did not object to Kilpatrick’s release.

The Democrat served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1996 to 2001 and was minority floor leader from 1998 to 2000. He was elected mayor of his hometown in 2001 and served from 2002 through his September 2008 resignation.

Kilpatrick spent 99 days in the Wayne County Jail and in early 2009 joined his family in a Dallas suburb where he worked as a salesman for Covisint, a subsidiary of Detroit-based software company Compuware Corp.

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DETROIT — The Michigan parole board voted Friday to release former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from prison after more than a year behind bars for violating probation in a criminal case that forced him out of office in 2008.

Kilpatrick will be freed no earlier than July 24, said Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Kilpatrick’s parole request had been on hold since late May when the board chairman said he wanted more time to understand the federal corruption charges pending against the ex-mayor. People charged with felonies typically aren’t granted parole.

There was no immediate comment from the Wayne County prosecutor who had urged the parole board to keep Kilpatrick in prison.

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 2008 in a case that was tied to his cover up of an extramarital affair with his chief of staff.

He was sent to prison in 2010 after a judge said he had misled authorities and failed to turn over certain assets toward his $1 million restitution to Detroit.

Kilpatrick faces a September 2012 trial on federal tax and fraud charges related to his time at city hall. His father, Bernard, and others are also part of the case.

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Kwame Kilpatrick Blames “Conspiracy” In Autobiography

“In ‘Surrendered! The Rise, Fall and Revelation of Kwame Kilpatrick,’ Kilpatrick explores the many elements, both professional and personal, that contributed to the ‘perfect storm’ of controversy and conspiracy that culminated in his conviction for lying under oath about an affair with his longtime friend and chief of staff. He was unfaithful to his wife, but many men are and perhaps even more politicians are. Most are not in prison.

” ‘Surrendered! The Rise, Fall and Revelation of Kwame Kilpatrick’ provides insight into the many triumphs and disappointments of Kwame Kilpatrick. He made national headlines when he became mayor at the age of 31 and numerous others when his leadership brought new development to the city, including hosting the Super Bowl. City operations, development and safety had never experienced a better performance level than when Kilpatrick was mayor. However, his sense of compassion for people in need clashed with his most glaring fault, immaturity – professional and personal. His willingness to enforce checks and balances threatened the wrong peoples’ bottom lines and his single-minded devotion to his job threatened his family.

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SkyTel, which is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit, is also trying to exclude the testimony of a psychiatrist who says Kilpatrick suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the text scandal. SkyTel says it was an unreliable diagnosis for a number of reasons, including that the doctor never actually met Kilpatrick, but only interviewed him for six minutes by telephone, and that his interviews with family members – Kilpatrick’s wife, mother and sister — were littered with leading questions.

In the interview, Carlita Kilpatrick also told the psychiatrist that the text message scandal prevented her from working on her troubled marriage and healing from her husband’s extra-marital affair,

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Detroit — Imprisoned former Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, was indicted on federal corruption charges along with his father and three aides. Kilpatrick is charged with using the Mayor’s office as a criminal enterprise to make money for himself and his associates. The Detroit Free Press reports:

The 89-page indictment outlined four general areas of misconduct.

It said the defendants extorted money from municipal contractors, state and non-profit donors and engaged in bribery and extortion involving other public contracts and investments.

The indictment said that Ferguson kicked back at least $424,000 in cash and other items of value to the mayor and that Kilpatrick used more than $590,000 in cash derived from the conspiracy to pay his credit card bills, purchase cashier’s checks and clothing and repay loans.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Incumbents beware. Another lawmaker just bit the dust.

Michigan Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick lost her bid for an eighth term on Tuesday, her son’s legal woes dragging her down in a year when fickle voters seem eager to fire longtime lawmakers.

She’s the sixth — and the fourth in the House — to lose so far this year. And the frustrated electorate could deal others the same fate in primaries over the next two months, not to mention the general election in November, when nothing less than the balance of power in Washington will be at stake.

In another nod to fresh blood, Michigan voters chose political newcomer Rick Snyder as the Republican nominee in the race to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm in a state severely battered by the economic downturn.

He automatically became the favorite in the ailing state in his race against Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, who grabbed the Democratic nomination by beating House Speaker Andy Dillon. Michigan has the nation’s second-highest unemployment rate — at 13.2 percent — and scores of foreclosures, and that has been a drag on Granholm, the Democratic governor who must leave office because of term limits.

The two outcomes reflected the electorate’s strong anti-establishment sentiment and intense desire for new faces just three months before midterm elections.

Other races in Missouri and Kansas were more predictable in what otherwise has been a primary season filled with unanticipated results, as tea party hopefuls shook up races and voters spurned candidates aligned with the political parties.

In Kansas, two-term Sen. Sam Brownback sailed to the GOP nomination in the gubernatorial race. Democrat Robin Carnahan — a member of a famed Missouri political family — and seven-term GOP Rep. Roy Blunt secured spots on the November ballot in that state’s Senate race.

Another veteran politician — GOP Rep. Jerry Moran — narrowly topped fellow Republican Rep. Todd Tiahrt in the race for the party’s Senate nod in Kansas and will face Democrat Lisa Johnston, a college administrator. Moran had the backing of Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., while Tiahrt had the support of Sarah Palin. Victory in the GOP primary was tantamount to a general election win, as Kansas hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932.

The 2010 midterm elections already have seen five incumbents lose. Sens. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, and Arlen Specter, D-Pa., were ousted by their respective parties. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., Parker Griffith, R-Ala., and Bob Inglis, R-S.C., have failed in their primary bids.

State Sen. Hansen Clarke of Detroit beat Kilpatrick. Throughout the campaign, he stressed the legal problems of her son, Kwame Kilpatrick, who resigned as Detroit mayor in 2008 after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice. Kilpatrick tried to overcome her son’s legal woes by emphasizing her membership on the House Appropriations Committee and what she called her record of providing for the metropolitan Detroit district.

In the governor’s race, Snyder — who grabbed attention with ads promoting himself as “one tough nerd” — overcame Attorney General Mike Cox, Rep. Pete Hoekstra and two others. The former president and chief operating officer of computer maker Gateway Inc. spent $6 million of his own money on the primary.

In Kansas, Brownback easily won the GOP gubernatorial nomination over a single opponent and already was considered the front-runner for the general election. He is giving up a Senate seat he’s held since 1997. The conservative made a brief run for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination before dropping out.

State Sen. Tom Holland is unopposed for the Democratic nomination. They will square off to succeed Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson, who was finishing out the remainder of Kathleen Sebelius’ term. She left office last year to become President Barack Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary.

In Missouri, Carnahan, the daughter of a former governor and a former senator, easily defeated two challengers. Her Senate bid comes 10 years after the death of her father and one of her brothers in a plane crash.

Carnahan, the two-term secretary of state, will face Blunt, who has served in the House since 1996 and whose son is a former governor. He beat eight opponents for the GOP nomination, including tea party favorite state Sen. Chuck Purgason. Four-term Sen. Kit Bond is retiring.

Missouri also became the first state to test the popularity of Obama’s health care overhaul law.

Voters strongly approved a new law that prohibits the government from requiring people to have health insurance or from penalizing them from paying for their own health care. That conflicts with a federal requirement that most people have health insurance or face penalties starting in 2014.

The legal effect is questionable, because federal laws generally supersede those in states. But its passage sent a clear political message to Obama and the Democrats.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

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Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is scheduled to undergo seven hours of questioning today about whether he ordered police to scuttle the investigation into the killing of a woman said to have danced at a rumored wild party at the Manoogian Mansion in 2002.

But whether he will answer any questions about exotic dancer Tamara Greene, with criminal charges hanging over his head, remains a mystery.

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From The Detroit Free Press

A deposition got under way this morning for Christine Beatty, the former chief of staff for ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, in a lawsuit brought by the family of an exotic dancer said to have performed at a wild party at the Manoogian Mansion.

“She has been the arms and legs, the eyes and the ears, of Mayor Kilpatrick through his horrifying reign,” Birmingham lawyer Norman Yatooma said on his way into the seven-hour deposition. “I hope to learn about that today.”

Yatooma represents the family of Tamara Greene, 27, of Detroit, who was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Detroit in April 2003, several months after she supposedly danced at the long-rumored but never-proven party at the mayoral mansion.

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From Freep.com:

The wife and father of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick have asked a federal judge to quash a request to depose them in the lawsuit involving a slain stripper who was said to have danced at a long-rumored party at the mayoral Manoogian Mansion. 

Carlita and Bernard Kilpatrick filed the request in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Sunday in response to deposition requests by a lawyer for the family of the stripper, Tamara Greene, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in April 2003. The Kilpatricks were to be deposed in Texas on Aug. 5-6.

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From CNN

CNN) — The imprisoned former mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, was charged with sexual misconduct during a visit by his wife on July Fourth, according to a report released by the Michigan Bureau of Prisons.

“A correctional officer observed him touch the wife on her breast,” said Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the bureau.

“All prisoners know it’s against the rules,” Marlan said of such contact.

The report states that a correctional officer observed via a prison video feed Kilpatrick touch his wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, on her breast with his right hand in the prison visiting room at Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee.

Click Here For More

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Former Detroit Mayor Indicted On 19 Fraud And Tax Charges

From CNN:

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was indicted Wednesday on 19 counts of federal fraud and tax charges, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Michigan.

The charges against him include 10 counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, five counts of filing a false tax return and one count of tax evasion, according to U.S. District Court spokesman Rod Hanson.

If he is convicted, each fraud count would carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, while each tax count would carry a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

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From FreeP.com:

Two weeks after he was sent to prison, the Michigan Department of Corrections is proposing Kwame Kilpatrick for boot camp – a program that would release him on parole in 90 days.

The proposal was in a June 8 letter from the Corrections Department to Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner, who sentenced Kilpatrick to prison to serve an 18 month-to-5 year term for violating his probation. Groner, under state law, has the final say on whether Kilpatrick would be placed in boot camp.

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Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said late today that she was not happy with the prospect of Kilpatrick’s placement in the camp.

“We will certainly recommend to the judge that this not occur,” Worthy said.

Click here to read more.

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DETROIT – Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to up to five years in prison Tuesday for violating the terms of his probation stemming from his conviction for lying under oath about an affair with his chief of staff.

Kilpatrick, 39, asked Judge David Groner to show him compassion during the hearing, but Groner said “that ship has sailed.”

Kilpatrick was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.

At issue is $1 million Kilpatrick was ordered to pay the city after pleading guilty in 2008 to obstruction of justice. Groner ruled last month that Kilpatrick failed to report all of his assets and meet other conditions of his probation.

RELATED: Kwame Kilpatrick To Detroit: It’s Time To Move On

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On Tuesday, he ordered Kilpatrick to serve at least one-and-a-half years in prison, but credited him with 120 days of time served from his original sentence. Kilpatrick is still obligated to pay back the remaining balance of his debt to the city, but to do that he’ll have to find a new job after he’s freed. Shortly after the sentencing, Compuware Corp. said that Kilpatrick has being fired from his job as a medical software salesman for its Dallas-based subsidiary, Covisint.

Groner scolded Kilpatrick for his lack of candor about his finances.

“Your continued attempt to cast yourself as the victim, your lack of forthrightness, your lack of contriteness and lack of humility … clearly rehabilitation has failed,” Groner told Kilpatrick.

During an impassioned plea for the court’s mercy, Kilpatrick outlined the reasons he felt he should be allowed to return to his family in Dallas.

“I want to go home your honor, where I belong,” Kilpatrick told Groner. “I’m not here because of a gun charge, or a drug charge. I’m here because of my confusion over some of the written orders that have been before me.”

Groner listened to Kilpatrick’s statement Tuesday, but appeared unmoved.

RELATED: FBI Believes Kwame Kilpatrick Ran Criminal Enterprise

“This lack of candor while under oath dangerously approaches the very crime you were under sentence for,” Groner said.

After Groner announced the sentence, a loud, collective gasp rose from many of Kilpatrick’s supporters in the packed courtroom. Kilpatrick appeared shaken.

“I almost teared up when he gave his speech,” said 43-year-old Simona Smith, a courtroom observer who let out a shriek in the courtroom when Groner told Kilpatrick the sentence.

“That was a good speech but it’s hard to believe. He’s lied so much … he’s unbelievable,” she said.

Assistant Prosecutor Athina Siringas said that the former mayor’s plea for mercy was “vintage Kwame Kilpatrick. The reality of the situation is totally different. He accepts no responsibility for his own behavior.”

Defense attorney Michael Alan Schwartz said he was “deeply disappointed” by the sentence and expressed uncertainty about how the city will receive the remaining $860,000 in restitution.

He said Kilpatrick was penalized for not being contrite. He didn’t wear “sackcloth and ashes,” he said.

Kilpatrick has 42 days in which to file an appeal.

Kilpatrick had testified in a whistle-blower lawsuit that he was not romantically involved with his chief of staff, but text messages between the two later showed he was lying. Before the text message scandal broke, the city paid the two whistle blowers an $8.4 million settlement.

Kilpatrick, a Democrat, resigned, served 99 days in jail, agreed to give up his law license, repay the city $1 million, and stay out of politics for five years.

After he was released from jail in February 2009, Kilpatrick got his job at Covisint. Since then, he has said he is working on his marriage and trying to be a better father to his three young sons. He also has been making $3,000 monthly payments to the city of Detroit, saying he hopes to repay everything he owes.

Prosecutors contend Kilpatrick continued to lie after he was released from jail the first time — that he could afford to give more and has intentionally hid assets.

RELATED: Kwame Kilpatrick’s Scandalous Text Messages Revealed

Groner agreed, saying Kilpatrick failed to disclose $240,000 in loans from prominent businessmen. He also said Kilpatrick failed to surrender nearly $23,400 in tax refunds and a share of cash gifts from two people.

Detroit-based Compuware said in a statement Tuesday that it “didn’t have any” choice but to fire Kilpatrick. He will be off the company’s payroll at the end of the month.

“It’s an unfortunate situation, and we feel bad for his family, but our hands are tied,” the company said.

DALLAS (AP) — Kwame Kilpatrick, the disgraced former mayor of Detroit, has a message for the city he used to lead: Let’s move on.

“The city has not been allowed to move forward, and the city has not been allowed to heal,” Kilpatrick said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with The Dallas Morning News. “And I think more than anything, it’s time for everyone to move on.”

Kilpatrick, who now lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, resigned as the Detroit mayor in 2008 and spent 99 days in jail for lying under oath about having an affair. He joined his wife and sons last year in the swanky suburban Tarrant County town, determined to rebuild his life.

At the end of the month, Kilpatrick will fly back to his hometown, enter a courtroom and find out whether he’s going back to jail. A judge last month warned him to “have your affairs in order” after determining Kilpatrick was guilty of violating terms of his probation.

RELATED: FBI Believes Kwame Kilpatrick Ran Criminal Enterprise

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Kilpatrick, who’s in the process of paying $1 million in restitution to the city of Detroit, said he hasn’t missed his monthly payments and plans to pay back the amount in full and on time. But the judge said Kilpatrick failed to disclose his assets and surrender tax refunds.

Kilpatrick said he’s done nothing wrong. He said that he hasn’t gotten a fair shake in Michigan courts and that he hopes to avoid a jail sentence and remain with his family in Southlake.

He said he is focusing on healing his family’s wounds and repairing his marriage, adding that he needs to be far away from his hometown so he can begin his recovery.

Kilpatrick said that he has a new hometown and that he plans to stay in Texas.

“This community has wrapped its arms around me,” he said with his wife, Carlita, at his side. “People welcome us to town. That has been a fantastic breath of fresh air for us.”

The discovery of sexually explicit text messages in January 2008 fueled the end of Kilpatrick’s political career.

The messages, between Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, contradicted denials they gave under oath that they were having an affair.

Kilpatrick wanted to fight the matter. But he said his kids led him a different direction.

RELATED: Kwame Kilpatrick’s Scandalous Text Messages Revealed

Son Jelani had a chat with his twin brother, Kilpatrick said. Then he announced to his parents: No. We’re tired. We want to move forward.

“We were shocked,” Kilpatrick said. “We were all crying.”

“It’s one of those moments where they led,” Carlita Kilpatrick said. “Oftentimes, children have a much clearer view of things.”

Before going to jail, Kilpatrick sat his sons down and talked about “being young men and helping their mom out.”

“They stepped into those shoes,” he said. “When I got back, they took a deep breath and said, ‘Good. You’re back. We can go back to being kids.’ “

The children are enjoying life in Southlake, their parents said. Seventh-graders Jelani and Jalil attend private school. Jonas, a third-grader, attends public school.

When Kilpatrick isn’t working his sales job at Covisint, a subsidiary of Compuware, he said he is catching his kids’ basketball and football games and track events. The family plays miniature golf and laser tag. They watch movies, attend high school sporting events and explore art festivals.

In the near future, Kilpatrick said, he plans to mentor inner-city children.

Kilpatrick has made friends at The Potter’s House, where the family worships. Bishop T.D. Jakes has counseled Kilpatrick on “life issues, transition issues, change, family, and manhood and responsibility.”

RELATED: OPINION: Kwame Kilpatrick, Step Down For The Good Of Black America

While Kilpatrick tries to carve out a new life in Texas, his lifestyle continues to attract attention back home.

Members of the Detroit media have made many trips to Southlake to stake out the Kilpatricks, showing video of their rented mansion, valued at more than $1 million, and driving around in expensive vehicles.

The former mayor again made headlines in Detroit on Wednesday, announcing the launch of a new Web site, friendsofkwame.com where he can accept notes of support and financial contributions.

Kilpatrick said he isn’t concerned that he’s giving Detroiters the impression that he’s living in luxury.

“I spent my entire life being political, trying to think about what other folks think,” he said. “If it’s pleasing to God, and pleasing to this woman and to my three boys, at this particular point in my life, that’s what I care about.”

In court documents, prosecutors say Kilpatrick has “intentionally hidden assets to the court, lied to the court, and fraudulently conveyed assets to others to avoid his obligation to pay restitution.”

“The prosecutors haven’t discovered anything,” Kilpatrick said. “I think they do a great job of manipulating their communication. … This is all about them coming down here and saying I was living high on the hog.”

Prosecutors in Michigan have said that he should go back behind bars. Michigan Department of Corrections officials have said they’ll request that Kilpatrick be placed in jail, but for less than a year.

Kilpatrick brushes off that speculation, saying “that’s a campaign in Detroit right now.”

“I’m just hopeful that at some point in this process, justice will prevail,” he said.

Kilpatrick’s wife said another jail sentence is “inappropriate.”

“I want my husband at home with me,” Carlita Kilpatrick said. “We have moved on. We have tried to heal.”

Kwame Kilpatrick said his kids get nervous every time he flies back to Detroit for a court hearing: “They don’t want their dad to be gone again.”

The Kilpatricks sat on a couch in a Southlake hotel room, joking and laughing. He draped his arm around her as she leaned in.

Carlita Kilpatrick said she’s sticking by her husband. She’s forgiven him.

“Our faith in God and our love for one another have pulled us through,” she said. “I know I love my husband. I love him now more than ever before. I trust him.”

When he was mayor, Kilpatrick said, he felt he was married to his job. He said he turned his back on God, his wife and their boys. That’s no longer the case, he said.

“I wanted to get back to what is really important: my wife and my children,” Kilpatrick said. “Dallas has really allowed me to reconnect with my wife in a way that we didn’t know was possible. We’re closer now than we’ve ever been.”

From Detroit Free Press

In their investigation of Kwame Kilpatrick, FBI agents are trying to prove that the ex-Detroit mayor and his associates used his elected office as a criminal enterprise to enrich themselves, according to sworn documents reviewed by the Free Press and interviews with people familiar with the probe.

It’s not clear whether the federal government will ever bring charges against Kilpatrick.

But in trying to build a case of criminal conspiracy, federal authorities have scrutinized a variety of evidence they say they have gathered against Kilpatrick, his father and close associates of the former mayor, according to records and people familiar with the probe.

Authorities describe a variety of alleged bribes and extortion demands during Kilpatrick’s years in office that, when taken together, could amount to racketeering violations under federal law. Allegations cited in government documents and culled from interviews include:

• That Kwame Kilpatrick accepted bribes of up to $100,000 from Kado, a businessman who had exclusive, no-bid janitorial and electrical-services contracts at Cobo Center and a sundry shop at the convention hall.

• That Kilpatrick deposited unspecified sums of cash into bank accounts without declaring the funds as income.

• That Bernard Kilpatrick received large amounts of money from contractors and business owners in return for official acts by the mayor; and that he pressured others to donate to his son’s political or civic fund.

• That Kado paid at least $30,000 in bribes to mayoral aide Derrick Miller, including $10,000 for a trip to Europe.

• That Miller told a local businessman he would be punished for backing a political opponent when Kilpatrick sought re-election. Shortly afterward, the businessman’s commercial vehicles started getting ticketed in Detroit — with the directive to do so allegedly coming from the mayor’s office.

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During the first decade of the new millennium, people had a lot of trouble keeping it in their pants, in their bras, and off of videotape. Cheaters, abusers, and other lewd activity-perpetrators ran rampant. Without further ado, here are the top 10 sex scandals of 2000 – 2009.

1. Tiger Woods & Jamie Jungers, 2. Tiger Woods & Rachel Uchitel, 3. Tiger Woods & Jaimee Grubbs, 4. Tiger Woods & Kalika Moquin, 5. Tiger Woods & Mindy Lawton, 6. Tiger Woods & Cori Rist, 7. Tiger Woods & Holly Sampson, 8. Tiger Woods & Joslyn James, 9. Tiger Woods & Loredana Jolie, 10. Tiger Woods & Julie Postle

Honorable Mentions: Tiger Woods & Theresa Rogers, Tiger Woods & Unidentified cocktail waitress, Tiger Woods & Unidentified British TV presenter, Tiger Woods & Unidentified “sex-addicted cougar”

… Just kidding! Here’s the real list:

10 – Paris Hilton Sex Tape

In 2004 (back when leaked sex tapes were still a surprise) Paris Hilton’s ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon released footage of the pair having intimate relations. Hilton sued Salomon for making the tape public, but eventually settled out of court. The video, entitled “1 Night in Paris,” went on to claim the title of most rented release of 2005 and catapulted Paris Hilton’s already undeserved fame to even greater heights.

9 – Bill O’Reilly Sued For Sexual Harassment

A former producer of his show sued Bill O’Reilly for sexual harassment in 2004, alleging that he spoke to her about sexual fantasies, masturbation, and vibrators while sometimes seeming to pleasure himself. O’Reilly countersued for extortion, and the case was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy!

8 – Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Caught Exchanging Explicit Text Messages With Staffer

Sexting: Not just for tweens anymore. In early 2008 the Detroit Free Press revealed the existence of more than 14,000 text messages between Kilpatrick and his chief of staff Christine Beatty. Kilpatrick and Beatty, both married to other people at the time, used their city-issued phones to communicate in graphic detail about about their affair. This, combined with Kilpatrick’s many legal troubles, led him to step down as mayor. For his other crimes – including obstruction of justice and assaulting a police officer – he faces 120 days in prison and 5 years of probation. Not sexy.

RELATED: Kwame Kilpatrick’s Scandalous Text Messages Revealed

7 – Nipplegate

During the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVIII in February of 2004, Justin Timberlake sang “I’m gonna have ya naked by the end of this song” during his duet with Janet Jackson. Apparently he meant it, because when he ripped off part of her bodice, Janet’s breast was revealed to the world (except for a strategically covered nipple). Nipplegate gave us the term “wardrobe malfunction,” and MTV, which co-produced the show alongside CBS, was banned from ever producing a halftime show again. To top it all off, CBS was fined a record $550,000 for indecency by the FCC.

6 – Mark Sanford “Hikes The Appalachian Trail”

The South Carolina governor had not been seen in public for some time in mid-2009 when his staff told media outlets Sanford was “hiking on the Appalachian Trail.” Apparently by “hiking” they meant “visiting his ‘soul mate’ Argentinian mistress.” An honest mistake, we’re sure.  Sanford’s infidelity was ultimately exposed, leading him to apologize during a rambling, teary-eyed press conference. Flying in the face the political wives’ “stand by your man” code of honor, Jenny Sanford has since filed for divorce.

5 – Tiger Woods Cheats On His Wife … A Lot

A late-night car accident over Thanksgiving weekend 2009 drew intense media scrutiny, leading to the revelation that Tiger had cheated on wife Elin with 14 different women (and counting). With all that’s been written about the golfer lately, there isn’t a whole lot left to say to Tiger except … C’mon son!

RELATED: ROUND-UP: Mistresses Tattle On Tiger With Technology

4 – Larry Craig “Has A Wide Stance” In Airport Bathroom

Craig was arrested in 2007 for lewd conduct when he sought sex from a male undercover officer in a Minneapolis airport bathroom using well-known solicitation signals. Craig insisted upon his innocence, stating that he merely had a “wide stance” and that he had been picking up a piece of paper from the floor. This was of course the same Larry Craig who in 1989 pushed for more severe punishment of Representative Barney Frank for his involvement in a gay prostitution scandal.

3 – R. Kelly Charged With Child Pornography

R. Kelly has been roiled by several sex scandals. In 1995, he reportedly married the then 15-year-old Aaliyah, for whom he was a songwriter. The marriage was ultimately annulled, but that wasn’t the last we heard of Kelly’s alleged affinity for the Miley Cyrus set. In 2002, he was indicted on several counts of child pornography after a video was released of a man – purported to be him – having sex with an underage girl. His case finally went to trial in 2008, with the jury ruling Kelly not guilty on all 14 counts. The ill-advisedly self-described “Pied Piper of R&B” has since gone on to make more hit music, apparently forgiven by all his fans.

RELATED: Tavis Smiley Draws “Child Rape” Criticism For Publishing R. Kelly’s Book

2 – Kobe Bryant Accused Of Rape

In the summer of 2003 NBA superstar Kobe Bryant was arrested for the rape of a 19-year old hotel employee in Colorado. Bryant admitted to an adulterous sexual encounter with his accuser, but denied the assault allegation. The case was dropped after the accuser declined to testify in the trial, and a civil suit was settled out of court. Kobe lost several endorsement deals, but was able purchase his wife’s forgiveness with a $4 million diamond ring. Basketball fans are also back on his side thanks to his role in leading the Lakers to an NBA Championship in 2009.

1 – Priests In Catholic Church Sexually Abuse Young Boys

In 2001, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned a study that found that four percent of all priests who served in the U.S. from 1950 to 2002 faced some sort of sexual misconduct accusation. The Church was criticized when it emerged that some bishops had known about abuse allegations and failed to report them to police, instead merely reassigning accused priests. There are obviously about a million things wrong with this entire situation, but the sheer number of people affected and the church’s supposed position as a moral beacon combine to make this the biggest and most shocking sex scandal of the decade.

Check out more of NewsOne’s Best & Worst of 2009 and the Decade HERE.

DETROIT – Stripper Tamara Greene has found more notoriety in death than she ever did dancing under the name “Strawberry” in dimly lit topless clubs and private parties around Detroit.

The attractive, 27-year-old mother of three was shot several times in the pre-dawn hours of April 30, 2003, while sitting in a parked car outside a home on the city’s northwest side.

Six years later, Greene’s killing remains unsolved. But since her death, her legacy has become rife with intrigue after she was rumored to have performed at a supposed wild party at disgraced ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s mansion.

Many in Detroit question if her death was linked to the unproven party, and if some in city government may have conspired to cover up any connection to the former mayor.

On Friday, the Republican attorney general who wants to be Michigan’s next governor is set to give a deposition in federal court as part of a $150 million civil lawsuit. The suit isn’t seeking to find Greene’s killer, only to prove Kilpatrick, high-ranking police and other city officials stifled an investigation into the slaying.

Attorney General Mike Cox has defended his investigation of the rumored party, which he’s dismissed as an “urban legend.” His office investigated reports of the party, allegations of misdeeds by police protecting Kilpatrick and rumors that the mayor’s wife beat a stripper, but not Greene’s slaying.
“That wasn’t what we were supposed to do,” said Cox. “I would love to see the murder of Tamara Greene solved and someone brought to justice.”

The lawsuit was filed by attorney Norman Yatooma on behalf of Greene’s son; her two daughters were added later. It names Kilpatrick, former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, retired Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, several other police officials and the city as defendants.

“It just shows you can’t really trust many people,” Greene’s 16-year-old son, Jonathan Bond, said of a possible cover-up. Bond now lives outside Detroit and attends a suburban high school. “It shows you can do wrong things as a leader.”

Word of the rumored party began to surface in early 2003 when then-Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown claimed he was fired for investigating it and questionable behavior by members of Kilpatrick’s Executive Protection Unit.

The party allegedly took place sometime in 2002. Only Kilpatrick, strippers and his bodyguards are said to have been present. No details — other than the alleged assault — have come out about what reportedly happened there.

Greene’s name was linked after her death to the party reports as rumors of her dancing there began to surface.

In an affidavit, a former Detroit police records clerk said she saw a report involving Greene. The report read Greene was dancing at the party when Kilpatrick’s wife, Carlita, returned home unexpectedly and in a rage beat her with a wooden object.

Discreetly, the story goes, Greene was taken to a hospital.

But investigators have been unable to find the report. Similar searches for medical records to prove someone had been assaulted at the Manoogian Mansion also proved fruitless.

A retired homicide investigator, who looked into Greene’s death before being transferred out of his unit, has said he believes she may have been shot by an officer.

What is missing, Cox says, is proof that a party took place, that Greene was there and that she was assaulted by the mayor’s wife. He also denies recent claims by a state police investigator that the attorney general’s office pressured state police to end their probe.

Cox said he only looked into the party after federal and county authorities balked. He issued 90 subpoenas, questioned nearly 120 witnesses and pored over 10,000 pages of documents; his investigation ended after five weeks. At the time, Cox said his office only was looking into the alleged party and whether Kilpatrick’s police bodyguards had crashed city vehicles while driving drunk and received overtime for hours not worked.
“We couldn’t find a victim to establish that there was a crime,” he said.

The county prosecutor still is investigating Greene’s death, and Detroit police recently reopened the case. Yatooma wants Cox to tell what he does know — under oath.

In a 2003 meeting with Cox, Kilpatrick denied the party happened. Yatooma wants to know why Cox didn’t question the Kilpatricks under oath.
“The state police troopers were not permitted to be there. The meeting was not recorded,” Yatooma said. “We simply have to take Mike Cox’s word” for what was said.

Depositions are expected over the next several weeks from the Kilpatricks, Beatty and Bully-Cummings, who retired in 2008.

“We have made no suggestion that we know who killed Tammy Greene,” Yatooma said. “Is there a reason that her murder investigation has been covered up? We don’t have to prove why. We just have to prove that it was.”

Kilpatrick and Beatty were charged with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice in March 2008 after their sexually explicit text messages contradicted testimony in a 2007 whistle-blowers’ trial. Both had denied a romantic relationship and their roles in Brown’s firing.

Kilpatrick later entered pleas in two criminal cases, resigned as mayor and spent 99 days in jail. He now works as a salesman in Texas.

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Residents of Detroit are voting in a mayoral runoff between incumbent Ken Cockrel Jr. and professional basketball Hall-of-Famer Dave Bing.

Polls opened Tuesday at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

The winner will complete the final seven-and-a-half months of Kwame Kilpatrick’s second term. There’s an Aug. 4 nonpartisan primary and Nov. 5 general election for a full, four-year term.

Only 15 to 20 percent of Detroit registered voters are expected at the polls Tuesday.

Cockrel moved up from city council president to the mayor’s office after Kilpatrick resigned in September. He finished second to Bing, founder of steel manufacturer The Bing Group, in a February primary.

Are you from Detroit? Have you cast your vote? Share your experience and opinions of the candidates in the comments!!!

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OPINION:Wither the Hip-Hop Mayor

Kwame Kilpatrick’s Scandalous Text Messages Revealed

Detroit is not disappearing anytime soon. At 1.03 million residents, it is the 11th-largest city in the country, larger than San Francisco, Boston, or Seattle. The current downturn in the fortunes of the automobile industry is a hard blow, of course, and it’s difficult to be sanguine about a comeback for the city, unless you are the sort of urban booster who sees the construction of casinos as a harbinger of urban renaissance-I’m not. On the other hand, some of the large empty downtown buildings are being refurbished, like the old Fort Shelby Hotel (right), a 1916 building, with a high-rise extension by Kahn, which was reopened last year after standing empty for 30 years. Also, here and there, one sees smaller examples of urban enterprise: a renovated storefront, a club, a restaurant. Not exactly a hotbed of the creative class (which prefers warm climates, anyway) but something. If cities were movie characters, Detroit would be Mickey Rourke’s Randy “The Ram” Robinson.

Down, but not out.

CLICK HERE to view the slideshow of beautiful architectural ruin in Detroit.

MORE ON DETROIT:

Kwame Kilpatrick’s Scandalous Text Messages Revealed

Wanna Buy A Home For $1? Welcome To Detroit

Here is a Detailed Report of Kwame Kilpatrick’s Fall

Here are the text messages between Kilpatick and his aide, Christine Beatty

KK: They were right outside the door, they (bodyguards) had to have hear everything

CB: So we are officially busted! LOL

CB: “Have you and your wife been back on a regular sex life?

KK: “We had sex 1 time this year, not regular at all.”

KK: “I really believed that I had not chance to be with you. I’ve wanted to have sex with you since I was 17 yrs old. I believe it was my only opportunity.”

CB: “I still remember in the days when I was scared to touch you. How I spent my day dreaming when and how to say I love you … a million days in your arms is never too much.”

CB: “I have wanted to hold you so badly all day, but I was trying to stay focused on work. So, I promise, not to keep you longer than 15 minutes.”

KK: “Don’t promise (N-word.)”

CB: “I’m in my office. Do you want me to come to yours or you coming to mine?”

KK: “I’m coming down there … LOL ditto. Freaky Chris!”

CB: “You told me that you would be my boyfriend everyday until I was your wife. Are you renigging?”

KK: “Hell no! Don’t start none. Won’t be none …! LOL”.

CB: “I can’t see living this way with us being a ‘secret’ forever. I love you so much and I want to tell somebody, someday! (Smile).”

KK: “In this important and somewhat confusing time in your life, please know with all our hearts and soul that I love you. And you will never, never be alone.”

CB: I really wanted to give you some good head this morning and i didn’t know how to ask you to let me do it. I have wanted to since friday

KK: “Next time, just tell me to sit down, shut up and do your thing!”

CB: “Will you marry me?”

KK: “YES. WHEN?”

CB: “I dont know when, all I know is I want to be your wife! I want you to be my husband. So whenever our lives permit, just say youll marry me.”

KK:” YES. YES. YES. I REALLY KNEW I WOULD BE WITH You SINCE 12TH GRADE. JUST A MATTER OF TIME.”

CB: “I will wait on it! …”

KK: “You Too! I was about to jump your bones in Ford Field! LOL.”

CB: “I’m sorry that we are going through this mess because of a decision that we made to fire Gary Brown. I will make sure that the next decision is much more thought out. Not regretting what was done at all. But thinking about how we can do things smarter.”
KK:”It had to happen though. I’m all the way with that!”

CB: “I love how you can make me feel by just looking at me!”

KK: “At that time I was trying to make a teenage fantasy come true!”

KK: “Nobody has ever, imean ever, excited me like you.”

“I love how you can make me feel by just looking at me!” .

Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is out of jail. His ex-lover and top aide, Christine Beatty, still has weeks behind bars. But their text messages to one another the source of their political implosion and Detroit’s global embarrassment  continue to hit the public.

Here is the Court Report With All of the Text Messages

A new batch _ 682 pages in all _ was released Monday. Kilpatrick’s attorneys on Tuesday filed a $100 million lawsuit against SkyTel, the company that released the messages to the news media. The lawsuit argues that releasing the messages violated the former mayor’s rights. SkyTel counters it was compelled by court orders to release them.

Here is a Detailed Report of Kwame Kilpatrick’s Fall

The text messages detail more of Kilpatrick’s explicit sexual escapades, and include intriguing messages involving family members and City Hall staffers.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny last week said the messages might be “shedding light on government misconduct,” but there didn’t appear to be anything obvious in the short bursts of expression.

There’s Kilpatrick’s wife, Carlita, texting her straying husband in May 2003 that she “had a bad dream last night … that you had a girlfriend.”

There’s also a text by Kilpatrick’s sister, Ayanna, who takes a dim view of her hometown.

“How do you educate voters in a city full of idiots…?!” she told Beatty and her brother.

The messages, in the thousands, are just a fraction of the hundreds of thousands possessed by the Wayne County prosecutor’s office for use in the criminal case against Beatty and Kilpatrick. They had been filed with the court as part of the prosecution’s effort to prove the messages’ authenticity.

Kilpatrick and Beatty were charged with perjury and other crimes last year after texts published by the Detroit Free Press contradicted their courtroom denials of an affair. The pair had testified in a civil lawsuit brought by police officers who said their careers were ruined by Kilpatrick because of suspicions about his inner circle.

Kilpatrick and Beatty each pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. The ex-mayor left jail in February after 99 days and has been granted a probation transfer to Texas so he can take a high-tech sales job. His old paramour, a friend since high school, is due to be released April 15.

The messages had been under seal while prosecutors and Beatty’s defense team wrangled over their admissibility as evidence. But after her guilty plea, the Free Press asked a judge to release them.

“Enough is enough,” Beatty lawyer Mayer Morganroth said Monday in explaining why he didn’t pursue an appeal.

The messages on city-issued pagers show Beatty as the loyal lover, relying on Kilpatrick for her physical and emotional needs as her marriage hits the rocks.

“I love how you can make me feel by just looking at me!” she wrote in December 2002.

Earlier that year, Beatty recalled the first time they had sex when she returned to Detroit after attending Howard University.

“At that time I was trying to make a teenage fantasy come true!” Kilpatrick replied.

In 2003, he wrote: “Nobody has ever, imean ever, excited me like you.”

Well, maybe not. The messages show Kilpatrick exchanging sexual innuendo with other women. “I wish you could have two wives,” one of them wrote.

The texts are mostly between Kilpatrick and Beatty, but communications with their spouses and other high-ranking city officials are part of the package, too:

In a September 2003 text to a staffer, Carlita Kilpatrick wrote that she didn’t want to be dinner host to Detroit rapper Eminem. “I thought we were going to his house. When did it become mine.”

And in January 2004, four years before Kilpatrick was charged with felonies that would end his reign at City Hall, a spokesman texted him and others that Kym Worthy, who would end up helping bring Kilpatrick down, was appointed Wayne County prosecutor.

“That’s too bad!” replied city attorney Ruth Carter.

DETROIT — The mayor of Detroit says the city’s deficit is approaching $300 million and he has ordered all departments to reduce their budgets by 10 percent.

Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. said in a statement Friday that new problems are being discovered daily regarding the finances and financial reporting practices of the administration of his predecessor, Kwame Kilpatrick.

He says the discoveries confirm that Kilpatrick “misled Detroiters and misled City Council.”

Cockrel was promoted to mayor from the City Council when Kilpatrick resigned in a scandal in September.

Detroit has a budget this year of $3.1 billion and employs about 15,000 people.

Cockrel said he will release a deficit elimination plan in January.

If we have learned anything this year, it is that corrupt politicians come from all around the country, from both political parties and can be black, white, male or female. That said, here is our top 5 corrupt politicians of 2008

1. Rod Blagojevich: At a time when America was given a new faith in politics and politicians, Blagojevich did a lot to reverse that trend. Blagojevich reinforced the stereotype that all politicians were self interested  hypocrites. By publicly trying to trade Obama’s vacated Senate seat, for his own personal interest, Blagojevich reminded us of the old politicians of old who would jerk the public and lose their integrity for money and power.

Watch Coverage of The Blagojevich Scandal

2. Dick Cheney. He should really be number one but he managed to stay under the radar. Despite his role in the outing of Valerie Plame Scooter Libby fell on his sword for him. Cheney continued to rake in millions from Halliburton due to the war he started. Dick Cheney was indicted on  corruption charges this November for his involvement with a prison company, the GEO group. With the Vice President is profiting from incarcerated inmates, its no wonder there are so many black men in jail.

Watch Coverage of Dick Cheney’s Prison Scandal

3. Kwame Kilpatrick. Kwame Kilpatrick spent millions of dollars trying to hide his own affairs and indiscretions while his city went to the pits. Kwame Kilpatrick was stupid enough to have an affair with an aide on city issued cellphones and arrogant enough to lie about it. Kilpatrick also fired several of the police officers who were investigating him and became the target of an $150 million lawsuit for allegedly killing a stripper. Eventually Kwame had to step down from office and serve four months in jail.

Watch Nightline Cover Kwame Kilpatrick’s Numerous Scandals

4. Elliot Spitzer. While Elliot Spitzer may not be the first politician to take in the services of a hooker, he is probably the biggest hypocrite who did. Spitzer spent his career trying to clean up New York in the name of decency and the law. He then broke the law in a very indecent way.

Watch Elliot Spitzer Resign

5. Sarah Palin. From her original Troopergate scandal, to her billing Alaska for her personal needs and taking $150,000 from the RNC for her own wardrobe, Sarah Palin has improperly benefited from her own personal power and tried to cover it up the whole way.

Watch Coverage of Sarah Palin’s Troopergate Scandal

Honorable Mentions

Ted Stevens, Senator from Alaska

Sheila Dixon, Mayor of Baltimore

See more of NewsOne’s BEST OF EVERYTHING 2008!!

Christine Beatty, a former aide to the mayor, accepted a four-month jail sentence in exchange for admitting to obstruction of justice charges for her actions in a civil lawsuit brought by two police officers. The officers claimed Kilpatrick retaliated against them when they suspected wrongdoing by members of his inner circle.

Sexually explicit text messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty, published in January by the Detroit Free Press, contradicted witness-stand denials they were having an affair. Both were married at the time.

“I lied under oath,” Beatty told the judge, echoing the words Kilpatrick used during his own guilty plea in September.

“I did so with the intent to mislead the court and jury and to impede and obstruct the fair administration of justice,” she said in pleading guilty to two felonies.

Beatty, 38, initially was unable to choke back tears. Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny gave her a moment to compose herself.

Beatty’s jail sentence will begin Jan. 5. With credit for good behavior, she could be free in 100 days.

Beatty, the mother of two young daughters who has since gotten divorced, had vigorously fought her case until Monday.

“It was time to get it over with, get on with her life, get it out of her children’s lives,” defense lawyer Mayer Morganroth said outside court. “Otherwise it goes on and on.”

Beatty refused to speak to reporters as she left the court.

Kilpatrick, 38, pleaded guilty three months ago, resigned from office and was sentenced to 120 days in jail.

Dont’s:

William Jefferson

He was Louisiana’s first African-American Congressman since Reconstruction, however scandal prevailed over this great achievement. On June 4, 2007, a federal grand jury indicted Jefferson on 16 charges related to corruption after searching and seizing many items in his office related to the corruption charges. FBI agents found $90,000 of cash in the freezer. The cash was separated into $10,000 increments wrapped in aluminum foil and then stuffed inside frozen food containers.

Sharpe James

This Mayor of Newark and New Jersey State Senator got in trouble with the law during his career for fraud and conspiracy. He was indicted on July 12, 2008 and then convicted on April 16, 2008 of all five counts of fraud. He abused public social programs and took a huge $213,000 salary in 2002 to become the highest paid mayor in the nation. All this happened with his cabinet members by his side helping to corrupt the New Jersey government.

Kwame Kilpatrick

Kwame Kilpatrick served as the youngest mayor in the history of Detroit, Michigan. While in office from 2002 to 2008 the controversies and scandals that surrounded his tenure made him one of the worst big-city mayors in the United States. Just some of Kilpatrick’s scandals included stealing and misusing money, throwing an extravagant party with exotic dancers, infidelities and murder. Finally on September 4, 2008, he resigned as mayor of Detroit and later went to jail where he currently resides.

Marion Barry

On January 18, 1990, Marion Berry, the mayor of the District Of Columbia, was arrested with former girlfriend Hazel “Rasheeda” Moore at the Vista Hotel for crack cocaine use and possession. The sting operation was videotaped a shown on television across the country. Barry ended up being charged with one count of possessing cocaine and went on to be re-elected as mayor after serving his sentence.

Jesse Jackson

Despite being a great civil rights activist and religious leader, Jackson made several mistakes throughout his career. Jackson did run two moderately successful campaigns for president twice in 1984 and 1988. During the 1984 campaign he did refer to Jews as “Hymies” and New York City as “Hymietown,” which caused Jewish leaders to become outraged and unsupportive of Jackson. In 2001 it was revealed that Jackson had a love child with a member of his staff in 1999.

Do’s:

Cory Booker

The current mayor of Newark, New Jersey, unsuccessfully ran against Sharpe James until 2002 when he was elected into office. Booker can be noted for his life long efforts to end poverty and improve life in Newark. Much of his involvement in these noble efforts included strikes and other unconventional methods. While in office Booker called for a 8.3% increase in the city’s property tax, an increase in the number of city employees and a strict monitoring of the drug trade.

Deval Patrick

Patrick is the current and first African-American Governor of Massachusetts (and third African-American governor in the history of the United States). He has been a successful governor who has a few mishaps during his tenure but has proved to be an all around liberal and progressive politician.

Thurgood Marshall

Marshall is the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967. While he served on the Court Marshall supported the Constitutional protection of individual rights, civil rights and criminal procedure. Most notable is his involvement in Brown v. Board f Education, which abolished the “separate but equal” doctrine in the U.S. government.

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

This African-American politician served in the United States House of Representatives between 1945 and 1971 representing Harlem, New York. Powell began his career focusing on fighting for civil rights in Harlem. As Congressman he fought against segregation and supported education and labor movements.

Jesse Jackson

Jackson has overcome the difficulties in this career to revered as one of the most important Black leaders ever. He began his career as an American civil rights activist in the 1960s alongside Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Jackson also ran for President of the United States twice in the 1980s and did not make it pas the primaries but made an impressionable dent on the Presidential races.

DETROIT – A judge sentenced former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to four months in jail Tuesday for a sex-and-text scandal, calling him “arrogant and defiant” and questioning the sincerity of a guilty plea that ended his career at City Hall. Kilpatrick declined to speak in court, but his lawyers urged the judge to look at his entire career, not just the crimes that threw local government into disarray for months.

The punishment was part of a plea agreement worked out last month. Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner followed that deal but said Kilpatrick would not get time off for good behavior, potentially up to 20 days in this case.

“When someone gets 120 days in jail, they should get 120 days in jail,” Groner said.

Kilpatrick was taken across the street to the county jail, where he will spend 23 hours a day in a private cell.

As he was being led away, he yelled out to supporters: “You all take it easy.”

They responded: “Be strong, Mayor. We love you, Mayor. We got your back, Mayor.”

Kilpatrick, a Democrat, admitted lying while testifying last year in a civil lawsuit filed by former police officers who accused him of illegally demoting or firing them.

He and chief of staff Christine Beatty, both 38, were accused of having an affair and denied it, but text messages obtained by a lawyer in the case — and later the Detroit Free Press — clearly contradicted them.

They used their city pagers to arrange trysts and share sexually explicit desires. A fresh batch of messages was released last week, revealing that Kilpatrick, married with three children, likely had other lovers.

The sentencing was Kilpatrick’s first public forum since a speech to supporters after he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice Sept. 4. In that address, he lashed out at Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who was holding hearings to remove him from office, and told Detroit, “You done set me up for a comeback.”

The judge said he was shocked by the comments.

“That night the community expected to hear a message of humility, remorse and apology,” Groner said. “Instead, we heard an arrogant and defiant man who accused the governor, among others, for his downfall.”

Groner told Kilpatrick that he misled the City Council into settling the police officers’ lawsuits for $8.4 million, “all in an attempt to protect your political career” by keeping a lid on steamy text messages.

“At a time when this city needed transparency, accountability and responsibility, you exhibited hubris and privilege at the expense of the city,” the judge said.

Kilpatrick also was given a 120-day concurrent sentence for assaulting a sheriff’s officer who was trying to deliver a subpoena in July.

Outside court, Kilpatrick’s father, Bernard Kilpatrick, said his son was “railroaded.” The former mayor’s mother, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., was not in the courtroom.

A member of the defense team was more conciliatory.

“I don’t think there are any winners, just the end of a chapter,” lawyer Todd Flood told The Associated Press. “I think the mayor wanted this city to move on, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Besides jail, Kilpatrick will be on probation for five years and must pay the city $1 million in restitution by the end of that period. He made a downpayment of $20,000 Tuesday. He also signed a revocation of his law license.

Groner’s decision to not give Kilpatrick an opportunity for early release caused confusion at the sheriff’s department.

Spokesman John Roach said Kilpatrick probably would qualify for release after 100 days under a Michigan law allowing time off for good behavior. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy agreed, but then both backed off by evening.

Earlier, Worthy said “justice was served” in the Kilpatrick case. Beatty has turned down a plea deal and will go to trial in January.

The sexually explicit messages were first publicly disclosed last January by the Free Press. Beatty quickly resigned, but Kilpatrick hung on as mayor, even when prosecutors filed criminal charges against them in March.

Through spring and summer, Kilpatrick hired lawyers and image specialists and publicly ridiculed the case against him. Finally, he agreed to plead guilty and resign only after Granholm began the public hearing in September that could have led to his ouster.

Ken Cockrel Jr. was promoted to mayor from council president. A special election to fill the balance of Kilpatrick’s term will be held in May after the field is trimmed to two candidates Feb. 24.

“This is a sad day for Detroit and for the Kilpatrick family,” Cockrel said in a statement. “As a city, we now must put the past behind us and work together to meet our common challenges.”

Kwame Kilpatrick shouldn’t be going to the Democratic National convention, he needs to be hidden away with John Edwards’ mistress. All Kwame Kilpatrick can do now is sully his image, the city of Detroit, black mayors, Hip Hop and black people as a whole by not resigning and keeping himself out pf the public eye.

Today a Judge says he can’t travel without an electronic arm bracelet, and a spokesman for the Obama campaign said that Kilpatrick shouldn’t come to the convention because he would be a distraction. A lawyer for Kilpatrick said that “high ranking Democratic officials” want Kilpatrick to attend the convention. I can’t imagine who these officials are unless they’re from the Clinton camp and want one last chance to derail Obama..

I realize that you are innocent until proven guilty in this country. However, I’m not a judge I’m a journalist, and given my extensive research, he looks guilty as hell. Not only did he carry on his affair on a city-issued cell phone, he lied about it and attempted to cover it up, which cost the city million.

In Detroit, where the high school dropout rate is 80%, and where the murder rate is the highest in the country, 8 million dollars could pay for the salaries of 200 policemen or teachers for a year.

As the self-named Hip Hop mayor, Kilpatrick acted more like a ‘gangsta’ rapper than a mayor. At the Manooigan Mansion, Kilpatrick was alleged to have ‘ho parties’ which turned into ‘wild orgies.’ At one of these ‘ho parties,’ Kilpatrick’s wife beat up a stripper with a bat or club, sending her to the hospital. This resulted in Kilpatrick firing his wife’s security escort for letting her interrupt his ‘ho party’

The next year the stripper, Tamara Greene, was shot dead in a drive-by shooting. The officer who was initially in charge of the investigation, Alvin Bowman had a lawsuit charging that he was transferred out of the Homicide Division for investigating her murder. A lawyer for Greene’s son requested the text messages from Kilpatrick and his inner circle, suggesting a cover-up. In Detroit radio personalities and gossipers have alleged that Kilpatrick was involved in her killing. Greene’s son would wind up suing the city for 150 million.

Kwame Kilpatrick seemed to take the ‘Hip Hop’ Mayor label to heart, using the city to pay for his large entourage, and pay for his red Navigator. He was known in Detroit for balling out at the clubs and strip joints. Kilpatrick also dressed like a hip hop star or young black athlete donning a large diamond studded earring, and suits an NBA player would wear.

Kwame Kilpatrick is a tragedy for black politics. Rather than following the example of his mother and other pioneering black politicians, he followed the example of of the modern rapper, complete with the cars jewelry, strippers, clubs and swagger. By claiming that his detractors are racist, he is crying wolf and making it les believable the next time a black politician legitimately has a problem with racism.

Kilpatrick started off so promising a former Florida A&M football player and Detroit public school teacher. He chose to put his ego before his job, which is good for a rapper. Rather than aspire to be a good mayor, Kwame chose to aspire for hood love and act like a baller rather than a Mayor. Its obvious that the republicans will use any pictures of Kilpatrick or kind words Obama said about Kilpatrick against Obama.

Kilpatrick maybe the ‘hip hop mayor,’ but it’s not the hip hop I grew up on. It’s the hip hop that determines a man’s value by the size of his entourage, his cars, his jewelry and the women he gets, but not his value to the community. Then again, corrupt, affair-having Mayors are as American as apple pie. Unfortunately, we live in society that judges all black people by the fuck ups. If Kwame Kilpatrick doesn’t want to derail the future of black America, the country and the future of the world he needs to go the way of Edwards mistress and disappear to not cause anymore damage.

Kwame Kilpatrick said that God asked him to be mayor of Detroit. All politiicans should beware of an idiot posing as God who tells fuck-ups like Bush and Kilpatrick to run for office and fuck their countries and cities up.

Did Kwame Kilpatick Kill a Stripper?

Tamara Greene’s son is interviewed on her murder

Kwame Defnds Himself and Blames the Racist Media Lynch Mob

Watch the Kwame Kilpatrick on Nightline

But what, really, does it mean to be a ‘hip-hop mayor?’ For that matter, what does it mean to be a hip-hop teacher, parent, or businessman?

This becomes an important question as ‘hip-hop’ is evoked to describe an ever-broadening range of activities, occupations, mindstates, and artistic endeavors. We have ‘hip-hop novels’ and ‘hip-hop theater,’ the ‘Hip-Hop Political Convention’ and even ‘hip-hop churches.’ In many cases, the tag is merely a marketing handle, an attempt to convince certain demographic groups to partake. Depending on the product and the context, these groups range from black urban adults to white suburban teenagers.

But ‘hip-hop’ can and should mean more. And redefining and reclaiming the term before it becomes meaningless is crucial.

Language is always a battlefield; the way we define a word circumscribes the very way we think. Already, ‘hip-hop’ has come to signify, in the eyes of many, a form of music characterized by misogyny and materialism, cartoonish and violent and immoral. For those of us who know better, educating the public on hip-hop’s structural precepts and its roots in social protest is the first step toward a truer definition.

The culture’s four foundational artforms —rapping, deejaying, b-boying and graffiti—are linked by a number of desires and artistic pillars. Among these are a love of democratic, merit-based, freewheeling collage (whether verbal, sonical, kinetic or visual), a need to forge community and claim space in the face of depravation, and an absolute genius in re-imagining what art itself could look and sound like, and what it could achieve.

(This is, of course, a partial and incomplete list. For a deeper look at hip-hop theory, check out my essay “On Lit Hop”—then buy the book it’s from, Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop Culture.

What, then, is an individual, an institution, or a movement that claims ‘hip-hop’ required to do? Let’s go back to the notion of a hip-hop mayor. Such an individual’s philosophy of government would honor hip-hop’s principles by seeking to privilege and amplify marginalized voices. In particular, such a government would be concerned with the young, the poor, and people of color—i.e., the people who invented hip-hop.

A hip-hop mayor would replicate hip-hop’s philosophy of collage—which threw whatever was hot into the mix regardless of where it came from, from James Brown to Kraftwerk to Billy Squire—by seeking out and recognizing good ideas (and idea-generators) regardless of location, philosophy, or any other ideological impediment.

She would approach civic issues, from crime prevention to renewable energy, with the same audacious, outside-the-box inventiveness that led Bronx teenagers to dream up backspinning records and writing their names on subway trains.

She would realize that in hip-hop, as in other great American inventions from jazz to baseball, the individual could achieve greatness only when the community supporting her is healthy and intact. She would understand that even visionary ideas—like hip-hop, and democracy itself—can easily be derailed when the principles on which they’re founded recede into the past. She would understand that ‘battles’ are important, but that they must be conducted within the boundaries of respect.

She would not, however, wear this hat.

Adam Mansbach’s latest novel is The End of the Jews (Spiegel & Grau/Doubleday).

The mother of Detroit’s mayor narrowly survived a primary election that focused on her scandal-plagued son as much as her own six terms in Congress.

Democratic Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick overcame a city hall sex scandal involving the mayor and a former top aide to defeat two underfunded challengers Tuesday who questioned whether she had lost touch with the district.

“I will be your congresswoman … until I decide to retire,” Kilpatrick told cheering supporters early Wednesday. “I am honored, blessed and will continue to serve you to the very best of my abilities.”

The mayor did not attend the gathering.

Voters also went to the polls Tuesday in Missouri to pick nominees for governor, and in Kansas and Georgia to decide House and Senate races.

In Michigan, the primary victory was agonizingly close for someone who rarely faced a challenge. Kilpatrick trailed in early returns from suburban communities outside Detroit, but rebounded in the city, her political base.

With all precincts reporting, Kilpatrick received 39.1 percent of the vote, compared with former state Rep. Mary Waters’ 36 percent. State Sen. Martha Scott had 24.9 percent.

The numbers offered evidence of the deep divide among voters, many of whom wanted to turn the primary into a referendum on Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s conduct.

The 38-year-old mayor and his former top aide are charged with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice — all connected to their testimony in a civil trial last year in which they denied having a romantic relationship.

But those claims have been contradicted by text messages in a scandal that has dominated news coverage in Detroit for months.

During the campaign, Waters repeatedly referred to the felony charges against the mayor and criticized the congresswoman for defending him. She argued that Kilpatrick had become unresponsive to the district and promised to be more accessible to constituents.

Scott downplayed the scandal, arguing that focusing on the mayor’s troubles would do little to help the district, where many people have struggled with high unemployment and poverty.

Kilpatrick campaigned on her record in Congress, where she serves on the House Appropriations Committee and leads the Congressional Black Caucus.

She benefited from facing two challengers who split the vote among those who have grown weary of the mayor. She also had about $500,000 in her campaign account in the middle of July and the support of labor unions, a major advantage in a race with low turnout. Waters raised only about $10,000 and Scott had not yet filed a campaign report.

Despite the narrow victory, Kilpatrick will be heavily favored in the November general election against Republican Edward Gubics because the district is heavily Democratic.

In Missouri, Rep. Kenny Hulshof defeated state Treasurer Sarah Steelman for the GOP nomination for governor, taking 49 percent of the vote to her 45 percent.

Hulshof and Attorney General Jay Nixon, who easily won the Democratic nomination with about 85 percent of the vote over a little-known challenger, will square off in November for the chance to succeed Gov. Matt Blunt, who decided not to seek a second term.

Hulshof, who had the backing Missouri’s most powerful business groups and of virtually every top Republican state official other than Blunt, who remained neutral, racked up large victory margins in his 9th Congressional District, carrying as much as 90 percent of the vote in some of those rural northeast Missouri counties.

In Kansas, former Republican Rep. Jim Ryun failed in his bid to reclaim the 2nd Congressional District seat he lost two years ago after serving five terms.

State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins beat Ryun, a former Olympian who held the world record in the mile for eight years, 51 percent to 49 percent.

Jenkins will face Democratic incumbent Nancy Boyda, who beat Ryun in 2006, in the November general election.

In suburban Kansas City, anti-abortion prosecutor Phill Kline lost a primary challenge in his bid for a full, four-year term as district attorney of the state’s most populous county.

Kline drew national attention with his investigations of abortion clinics when he was Kansas attorney general. He lost his 2006 re-election bid to an abortion rights supporter, but Republicans picked him to fill a vacancy in the Johnson County prosecutor’s job.

Challenger Steve Howe, a former assistant district attorney, received 60 percent of the vote in his race against Kline. He will face Democrat Rick Guinn, another former assistant district attorney who now works in the attorney general’s office, in the fall.

In Georgia, former state lawmaker Jim Martin defeated Vernon Jones, chief executive of DeKalb County, to claim the Democratic nomination for the Senate.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Martin led Jones by 60 percent to 40 percent.

The runoff win means Martin will face Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss in November.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s name will not appear on primary ballots Tuesday in Michigan, but voters could decide whether his mother should bear any of the fallout from a scandal that has galvanized city hall.

Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., faces a serious challenge in a three-way congressional primary that has centered on the mayor’s conduct and on tough talk about who could best represent the struggling Detroit district.

The 38-year-old mayor and his former top aide are charged with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice, all connected to their testimony in a civil trial last year. They denied having a romantic relationship, but those claims have been contradicted by text messages in a scandal that has dominated news coverage in Detroit for months.

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, who leads the Congressional Black Caucus, was first elected to the U.S. House in 1996 after nearly two decades in the state Legislature. She has faced little opposition in a Democratic district that John Kerry won with 80 percent in the 2004 presidential election. The primary winner will be heavily favored in the November general election.

During the campaign, former state Rep. Mary Waters has repeatedly referred to the felony charges against the mayor and criticized the congresswoman for defending him. She released a scathing ad that contrasted the felony charges against the mayor with video of the congresswoman defending her son at a rally.

“The reason she got challenged on that was her own doing,” Waters said. “If she had not been out publicly defending his behavior, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

In a recent forum, the congresswoman said she supports her son and “we will raise whatever he needs for his defense — as any mother in this room would do.”

The third primary candidate, state Sen. Martha Scott, has downplayed the scandal and argued that focusing on the mayor’s troubles will do little to help the district, where many residents have struggled with high unemployment and poverty rates.

“I’m running for this office because I want to make life better. I don’t think (Rep. Kilpatrick) has done a good enough job,” Scott said.

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick has pointed to her record in Congress, where she serves on the House Appropriations Committee. Waters, however, downplays Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick’s work to secure 500 million dollars in funding for the state. “Anybody who goes to Congress can bring home the dollars,” Waters said.

The candidates have sought the endorsement of presidential candidate Barack Obama, who has broad support in the district. But Obama is not expected to endorse because he has avoided the mayor’s scandal during his appearances in Michigan.

Some voters have separated the mayor from his mother’s congressional campaign. Duane Humphrey, 32, a Detroit restaurant manager, said he wants the mayor to resign but doesn’t think that his problems should reflect on the congresswoman. “It’s her son, but it’s got nothing to do with her,” he said.

The race is expected to be tight. A poll released by The Detroit News and WXYZ-TV last week showed Kilpatrick supported by 33 percent of voters, while Waters had 29 percent and Scott had 24 percent. The poll of 400 likely voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The Detroit Free Press endorsed Kilpatrick. The Detroit News endorsed Waters.

Kilpatrick should be helped by having two challengers likely splitting the vote against her. State officials predict statewide turnout of less than 20 percent, which also could help her.

Kilpatrick entered mid-July with nearly 500,000 dollars in her campaign account and was expected to flood the district with television, radio and print ads during the final weekend. Waters had raised 10,000 dollars through July 16 and carried nearly 8,000 dollars in debt, while Scott has not filed a campaign finance report.

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick “is part of a larger political machine that will be able to turn out primary voters,” said Oakland University political scientist David Dulio.

The congresswoman also has clout as chairwoman of the 42-member Congressional Black Caucus. A CBC chair has never lost re-election while leading the caucus, said Andra Gillespie, an Emory University political scientist who has studied post-civil rights politics.

She has brought several high-profile Democrats to the district to help her cause, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and New York Rep. Charles Rangel.

But Pelosi’s trip was overshadowed by the mayor’s troubles. When the speaker arrived at the Downriver Italian American Hall in Wyandotte on July 25, a dramatic court hearing in Detroit involving the mayor was under way.

A judge changed the terms of the mayor’s bail in his criminal case, ordering him to immediately post 7,500 dollars and undergo random drug tests after a sheriff’s deputy accused him of assault.

Bill McConico, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick’s campaign manager, acknowledged that many media outlets shifted gears to focus on the mayor instead of Pelosi, making it “hard to get your message out.”

But he said the congresswoman would be busy during the weekend reaching out to voters.

“We’re going to have a comfortable night next Tuesday,” he said.