TEXT MESSAGE SCANDAL: With Kilpatrick in jail, Detroit-area leaders want him to leave office

With Kilpatrick in jail, Detroit-area leaders want him to leave office By KATHLEEN GRAY, CHRIS CHRISTOFF AND CHRIS HALL • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS • August 7, 2008 As Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was jailed today, several prominent metro Detroit leaders said the time has come for the mayor to step down. Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, a Livonia Democrat who had previously held judgment on whether Kilpatrick should resign, issued a statement saying the mayor must step down or take a leave of absence. “As an attorney, I respect the legal process but the mayor's legal issues have become more than a distraction,” Ficano said. “This is paralyzing the city and the region.” Likewise, state Sen. Tupac Hunter, a Detroit Democrat and a key figure in Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign in Michigan, said today's events... [read full story]