And now, Council...

The Detroit City Council has a natty problem on their hands. They've already made their disgust with Mayor Kilpatrick well known, and I'm not sure they needed attorney Bill Goodman's report to convince them that the Mayor had betrayed them in the settlement process from the Whistleblower lawsuit. But Goodman's report shows them the tricky footing ahead. The wording of the Detroit city charter is cryptic enough that trying to throw the Mayor out of office would put the council in pioneer territory and there's really no way to guess at how the process would unfold. If the council pursues his removal, it almost certainly would end up in a court fight and there's a chance the felony trial on the prosecutor's eight-count indictment would be over before the council's fight was heard (which would leave it all rather pointless). The council can try the Lansing route and implore the Governor to remove the Mayor, and while that's a clearer path, the Governor has given no indication that she has any willingness to go the Engler route and remove a Detroit-elected leader from power. The last option is for the council to formally censure the Mayor, but while that might be a blemish on his resume, it's largely toothless.
So, council, what now?
-Devin