POLL: 47% WANT MICH. GOV. TO REMOVE KILPATRICK: Rep for Detroit mayor says only poll that matters is on Election Day.

A statewide poll in Michigan has found 47 percent of respondents say Gov. Jennifer Granholm should remove Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office for misconduct related to his text-messaging sex scandal.

The poll also found 84 percent of respondents said Kilpatrick should resign, according to the Associated Press.

Granholm is reviewing a request from Detroit City Council asking her to remove Kilpatrick, a fellow Democrat, from office. The mayor has said he won't resign as he fights criminal charges stemming from the scandal.

Kilpatrick spokesman James Canning said the polling doesn't matter. "The only poll that matters is the one Detroiters take when they step into the voting booth on Election Day," Canning said in a statement. "All other polls taken prior to Election Day only serve as fodder for so-called pundits."

STORY....

CITY COUNCIL WANTS KWAME KILPATRICK TO RESIGN: Vote goes 7-1 in favor of his removal; Mayor says it's irrelevant.

The Detroit City Council voted Tuesday to call for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s resignation in the wake of his embarrassing text-message scandal.


According to the Detroit Free Press, the vote was 7-1 in favor of urging the politician to step down.

Kilpatrick has dismissed the nonbinding resolution as irrelevant and vowed not to resign, according to the newspaper. A last-minute change to the resolution struck language calling for the council’s independent attorney, Bill Goodman to “explore the proceedings by which the mayor may be removed from office” if Kilpatrick stands by his promise to stay in office.

The resolution cites 33 reasons for Kilpatrick to quit, including failing to inform the council of a secret deal the mayor made to settle a whistleblower lawsuit and an accusation that he “repeatedly obfuscates the truth.” It also claims his administration has failed to govern effectively, noting widespread street light outages and mandatory audits getting turned in late.

It also says: “There is an overwhelming and growing sentiment amongst citizens of Detroit that the City Council should stand firm against Mayor Kilpatrick and seek his resignation.”

Responding to the resolution during an appearance at Wayne County Community College's east-side campus, Kilpatrick told reporters: "My reaction is, OK, now since it's over, it has no effect, it's not binding, let's get back to work."