What was Kwame Kilpatrick Thinking?

What was Kwame Kilpatrick thinking? The hot topic in Detroit today is the revelation that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his Chief of Staff, Christine Beatty, have had personal text messages between the two released to the public. The more than 14,000 messages outline a personal love affair shared by both city officials, who are married to other people and have families as well.

Now, people in public office, much like people in the private sector, have dalliances outside of marriage before this. Look at Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. The ex-president and his White House intern seem to have shared a little bit more than casual conversation while she was filing papers. While it's not exactly ethical to have hanky-panky on the public's dime, it happens.

What is unique in Kwame's case is that only a few months ago, he vehemently told a court of law, sworn on the stand in a recent whistleblower lawsuit against the city, that "NO" he did not have a personal relationship with Ms. Beatty. Ms. Beatty proclaimed on the stand that she did not have an affair with the mayor. The trial, which cost the city 9 million dollars, resulted in several millions being awarded to the two police officers for being wrongfully dismissed. In the meantime, the local news media has had a field day with this revelation, reciting excerpts of the racy messages on the evening news. From some of the released messages, Kilpatrick mistakenly thought that his tawdry texts would evaporate into the atmosphere. Obviously, he was grossly mistaken. If that isn't embarrassing enough for the mayor and his family, Mayor Kilpatrick will have some tough questions to answer to others as well. Besides the possibility of having to resign, Mr. Kilpatrick may face perjury charges as a result of his denial.

This case just goes to show how much of a glass house new technology is. It's not just the Internet where every move can be tracked down to the individual user. The world has now been able to view intimate romantic overtures between the two city officials with text messages on their cellphones.

This calls to question whether or not we are entitled to privacy on our cell phones. My immediate question is this: Were the cell phones city property? Were the people of Detroit paying for their use and upkeep with their tax dollars? If the answer is "yes" then the people of Detroit not only have a right to see the messages of Mayor Kilpatrick and Ms. Beatty, they have the right to see the text messages of every city employee to make sure the phones were used for business and not for pleasure.

As a business owner, I provide cell phones to 25 of my employees for use in communicating with those of us in the office. I do not check the numbers they call or charge a premium, as long as the employee stays within the guideline of maximum minutes and texts. But as the owner and the person responsible for those 25 telephones and numbers, I believe I have a right to have the text messages available to me, should I ever need them.

It will be interesting to see how this case pans out in the end. Will Mayor Kilpatrick resign? Will he end up in jail for perjury? Will his wife leave him? Can his children ever lift their heads from the shame?

All I know is that I'm going to be very, very careful what I punch into my phone or IM for a text message. You'll never know who will be able to read it.

Sources: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/METRO/801240449
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=5573031&version=22&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/15124272/detail.html