The New York Times-20080129-Aide Linked to Detroit Mayor Will Step Down

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Aide Linked to Detroit Mayor Will Step Down

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The chief of staff for Detroit's mayor resigned on Monday, five days after the release of text messages indicating that she and the mayor had lied under oath when they denied having had an extramarital affair.

In a letter to Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, with whom she has been friends since high school, Christine L. Beatty said that she can no longer effectively carry out the duties of chief of staff and that her resignation would be effective Feb. 8.

I painfully regret the devastation that the recent reports have caused to the citizens of Detroit, to my co-workers, to the mayor's family and to my family and friends, said Ms. Beatty, who was married when the affair appeared to have taken place but divorced in 2006. Mr. Kilpatrick has not signaled any intent to resign, despite demands last week that he do so by a union representing 900 city workers.

Mr. Kilpatrick's spokesman, James Canning, would not comment on Ms. Beatty's resignation and said the mayor had no public appearances scheduled Monday.

Ms. Beatty was a legislative aide to Mr. Kilpatrick when he was a state representative. She ran his successful mayoral campaign in 2001 and has been his chief of staff for his entire tenure as mayor.

Last Wednesday, The Detroit Free Press published transcripts of text messages between the mayor and Ms. Beatty from 2002 to 2003, Mr. Kilpatrick's first year at City Hall, indicating that the two had an intimate relationship. The newspaper said some messages indicate that Mr. Kilpatrick and Ms. Beatty may have used city money to pay for out-of-town trysts.

Mr. Kilpatrick's only response has been a brief statement released by his office in which he described the text messages as embarrassing and said he and his wife, Carlita, worked our way through these intensely personal issues years ago.

Mr. Kilpatrick, his wife and their children were seen on Sunday returning to their city-owned residence. His deputy has been handling city business.

The Wayne County prosecutor, Kym L. Worthy, said on Friday that she would investigate whether Mr. Kilpatrick and Ms. Beatty committed perjury when they testified in a police whistle-blower lawsuit last year that they had never had an intimate relationship. A conviction on felony perjury charges can result in a 15-year prison sentence.

Lawsuits filed by three former police officers who claim they were fired for trying to investigate the mayor's security detail have cost Detroit, whose declining population and poor economy have devastated its finances, more than $9 million.

[Illustration]PHOTO: Text messages indicated that Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick of Detroit, and his chief of staff, Christine L. Beatty, had had an affair. (PHOTOGRAPH BY RICARDO THOMAS/THE DETROIT NEWS, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS)