Colleague says Rep. Conyers shaken

Washington -- Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, spent Friday casting a long series of votes and avoiding reporters' questions as news spread at the Capitol about his city councilwoman wife's guilty plea.

"I have no comment," the Detroit Democrat who chairs the Judiciary Committee said as he left one vote on the House floor and headed down a marble stairwell. One colleague described him as seeming shaken.

Having served nearly a half-century in the House, Conyers has survived periodic controversy, and his colleagues believe this time won't be any different. But back home in his Detroit-area district, political hopefuls see an opportunity to unseat a congressman who hasn't had a close election in years.

"This has been a trying time for the Conyers family and, with hope and prayer, they will make it through this as a family," Conyers' office said in a statement. "Public officials must expect to be held to the highest ethical and legal standards. With this in mind, Mr. Conyers wants to work towards helping his family and city recover from this serious matter."

Michigan colleagues expressed sympathy for the 80-year-old Conyers, who, according to several people interviewed, isn't expected to suffer any fallout affecting his powerful chairmanship as a result as of his wife's difficulties.

Conyers, who assumed the Judiciary Committee chairmanship after Democrats regained control of the House in the 2006 elections, has not been implicated. And last week, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Conyers had her "full support."

When he runs again for re-election in 2010, some Republicans said he might face a strong Democratic primary challenge. That happened when the text message scandal involving former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick led to a tough primary battle for his mother, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Detroit.

"She was not the person who had the problem, her son was," said Ed Haroutunian, the founding chairman of the Wayne County Republican Committee, who lives in Congressman Conyers' district. "However, what you found was there were people who ran against her. I think that could very well be something that happens. There are going to be folks who think about it."

Conyers, who was elected in 1964 and is the second-longest-serving member in the current House, is popular with Republicans as well as Democrats.

Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, said Conyers "seemed to be very shaken" during voting Friday.

"It's a matter of sorrow. You have to feel sorry for him," Dingell said.

"He will hang in there," said Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Flint, who brushed off the thought that the emotional wear and tear of the family ordeal might make Conyers decide to retire. "I've know him a very long time, and he'll survive just fine, professionally and politically."

Conyers spent Thursday night at a luau at the White House. His wife, who friends says rarely socializes with him in Washington, was not at the event for members of Congress and their families.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, said that Conyers waved him over to his table at the luau for pleasant small talk.

"John and I have traveled together," Hoekstra said. "He's done things in my district. I am just very sad."

Rep. Thad McCotter of Livonia, who is part of the Republican leadership team, said no one would hold Conyers responsible for a relative's actions.

Rep. Mike Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, said, "It's always a stain on democracy when a public official uses their office for personal gain. Detroit has enough troubles already without having its public officials sticking their hands out to personally benefit from work that needs to be done for the city."

Given that no suggestion has been made that Conyers is implicated in his wife's troubles, several Democrats back home predicted he'll not suffer political repercussions.

"He was a pretty established politician before they were married," Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano said. "If there's no connection to him being involved in it, I don't think it has an impact on him at this point."

Thelma Murrell, immediate past president of the Southgate Democratic Club, called Conyers "too valuable a person for us to lose."

But Susan Chmielewski the chairwoman of the Wayne County Republican Committee, sees possible political trouble ahead for Conyers.

"If I was him, I wouldn't even run again. If his wife does do jail time, I think she's probably been quite helpful to him (at home and in his political life), and he'll be going it alone," she said.

Detroit News Staff Writer Christina Stolarz contributed.