Kwame Kilpatrick
Detroit voters who participated in focus groups during Kwame Kilpatrick’s run for mayor ripped the candidate in 2001.
Voters said they were concerned about cronyism, ties to special interests and questioned whether Kilpatrick was committed to the race. They also were mixed about his family, including his mom, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, and his father, Bernard, according to testimony Friday.
The voters wondered if Kilpatrick “really wants to run or if his parents just want him to run,” according to focus group results read in court.
Nine years later, Kilpatrick and his father would be indicted in one of the area’s largest public corruption cases. Prosecutors allege Kwame Kilpatrick and others extorted businessman, pocketed bribes, defrauded donors and dodged taxes.