LANSING, Mich.—Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s legal issues will cause Gov. Jennifer Granholm to miss some of the Democratic National Convention.
Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said Wednesday that the governor will remain in Michigan to weigh final motions from Kilpatrick and the Detroit City Council lawyers.
Granholm has scheduled a hearing for Sept. 3 on the council’s request that Kilpatrick be removed from office. Final motions before the hearing are due by the close of business on Monday.
Boyd says Granholm intends to issue an order on those motions “very soon after the final motions are submitted.”
The governor will then leave for Denver. The convention begins Monday and runs through Thursday, when Barack Obama will speak after formally winning the nomination.
Invitations already have gone out for Granholm to be the special guest Tuesday night during a party with the Michigan delegates in downtown Denver. Boyd wouldn’t say whether Granholm will be able to attend that event.
Granholm spoke during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston but is playing a less visible role this year.
Also Wednesday, one of Kilpatrick’s attorneys made another plea to Granholm to put the brakes on the Sept. 3 hearing.
Sharon McPhail said Granholm should be persuaded by a decision from a Wayne County judge, who found the Detroit City Council had no authority to oust Kilpatrick.
McPhail is urging Granholm to wait until Kilpatrick’s criminal cases have been resolved. The mayor faces 10 felony counts in separate perjury and assault cases.
But council attorney Bill Goodman filed motions in response saying there’s no doubt the governor has the power to remove an elected official for misconduct.
The letters are posted at .
