‘Steamy’ texts prompt hearing to remove mayor

Gov. Jennifer Granholm opened an extraordinary hearing Wednesday to determine whether Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick committed misconduct and should be removed from office in a scandal over text messages and a multimillion-dollar legal settlement.

Granholm gave brief opening remarks after Kilpatrick’s lawyers failed the day before to persuade courts to stop the hearing.

Granholm will hear evidence over allegations by the Detroit City Council that Kilpatrick misled it when it approved an $8.4 million settlement with fired police officers. Council members say they didn’t know the deal also covered up steamy text messages between Kilpatrick and his top aide, Christine Beatty, on city-issued pagers.

“The burden of proof is sufficient evidence satisfactory to the governor,” Granholm said in her remarks.

Kilpatrick’s attorney, Sharon McPhail, attacked council members who asked for the removal hearing, saying they are Kilpatrick’s political rivals.

“It’s too stupid to be plausible” that Kilpatrick had a secret pact to cover up embarrassing text messages, McPhail said.

She warned the governor that removing the mayor would have a chilling effect on officials statewide. The last time a Michigan governor considered the removal of an elected official was in 1982. In that case, Gov. William Milliken found a township official guilty of official misconduct but let him stay in office if he stopped drinking.

Besides the removal hearing, Kilpatrick faces 10 felonies in two criminal cases.