Acting White: Motown Mayoral Text-Sex Mess

When my teenage daughter racked up an outrageous text-messaging bill, before we had our 'talk' about it, I did a little math. I figured that each text message was at least a minute of time to consider, enter, and send. I wanted to know just how much time she spent with her on-line posse, versus hitting the books.

Now if Detroit's married-with-children Mayor Kilpatrick sent/received 14,000 titillating messages with his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, on their city-sponsored phones, this comes out to 29 8-hour days (one month) of text-romancing between the two. And all this tantalizing back-and-forth occurring in a city with a desperate need for full-time, fully engaged, leadership. Very sad, yes.

So what should happen to these two dip-sticks? First off, each should be docked a month’s pay for wasting taxpayer money. The mayor should be censured by the city council for a flagrant dereliction of his sworn duty. Ms. Beatty should be reassigned to some other city job, like the motor pool, where she will not be a daily distraction, and can practice truly earning her pay (in part) in some other position than those particular to her boss and that shall not be named.

As for the perjury charge and the time it carries - like I tell my kids, anyone can make mistakes, but it takes a real fool to lie under oath. And these lies were part of behavior that cost the city $9 million in payout to wrongly dismissed employees, privy to the mayor's dalliance. Jail time would definitely not be out of line.

In the mean-time, the voting public can deliver its full judicial ‘opinion’ to his-honor, come the next election, should it occur before sentencing.

James C. Collier

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