DETROIT (AP) – Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick named a new chief of staff yesterday, a day after the woman who previously held the post resigned amid allegations that she and the mayor lied under oath about an affair.
Kandia Milton, who has served as deputy chief of staff and liaison to Detroit’s City Council, was appointed to Christine Beatty’s job, Kilpatrick announced in a written statement released yesterday.
The mayor’s office also said Kilpatrick planned to address the city for the first time since the scandal broke.
Kilpatrick is set to speak tonight from his church, Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ.
Kilpatrick met yesterday morning with several city department heads at the mayor’s official residence.
Afterward, Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams snickered when asked whether Kilpatrick would resign.
“He’s the mayor. He’s in charge of what’s going on here,” Adams said. “He’s ready to speak to the people. He’s anxious to speak to the people.
“He has to be cautious about what he says. He’s very upbeat, and the people need to know that.”
The Wayne County prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the perjury allegations.
Meanwhile, a judge ruled that The Detroit News can join the Detroit Free Press in a lawsuit against the city to try to get to the bottom of whether a secret settlement exists in a whistle-blower lawsuit against the city.
The City Council also decided Tuesday to wait until three other council members return to Detroit to discuss starting its own investigation into the matter, councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said.