Michigan losing clout in Cheeks Kilpatrick exit

When Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick packs up her Washington office in January, it will mark the end of an era in Detroit politics -- and a decrease in congressional clout for Michigan.

The seven-term congresswoman fell short in her bid for re-election Tuesday, losing a Democratic primary race to state Sen. Hansen Clarke, who bested her by 6 percentage points.

Cheeks Kilpatrick, 65, had been a popular politician, having won numerous state legislative and U.S. congressional races over the course of several decades. Her 14 years in the House had earned her clout that will take some time for other members of Michigan's delegation to rebuild, since seniority plays a major role in committee assignments.

A member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, Cheeks Kilpatrick is the only Michigan representative on the panel. She was chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus from 2006-08.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi praised Cheeks Kilpatrick on Wednesday, saying she has been a leader "for her state's workers and families, and for all Americans."

"On the Appropriations Committee, she worked to strengthen Michigan's economy, create jobs, expand access to health care and education, and lay a foundation for growth and prosperity nationwide," Pelosi said in a statement. "Her work extended from supporting and funding our troops abroad to addressing the challenges of affordable housing and homelessness here at home.

"When Congresswoman Cheeks Kilpatrick leaves office at the end of this term, Detroit will lose an extraordinary champion in our nation's capital."

She was instrumental in Michigan receiving money for a light rail study, which could culminate in a light rail track being built along Woodward.

"The insiders in Washington believe that the more long-term members of Congress, the stronger your state delegation, and the more their ability to bring back dollars," said Tom Shields, president of political consulting firm MRG in Lansing. "It's the way the system works, especially with the earmarking of dollars."

Shields is less certain Detroit will be hurt financially by Cheeks Kilpatrick's loss. "(Rep. John) Conyers takes care of Detroit," Shields said.

Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics, said: "The delegation is going to lose a lot of seniority .... But that was just a secondary consideration in Detroit, where voters wanted to get rid of anybody named Kilpatrick and damn the consequences."

Cheeks Kilpatrick's race was overshadowed by someone not even on the ballot -- her own son.

Kwame Kilpatrick, the charismatic former mayor of Detroit, and his mother had been the closest thing Detroit had to political royalty. That bond became an anchor in recent years, as the younger Kilpatrick became embroiled in one scandal after another. Kwame Kilpatrick was forced to resign in disgrace and is now behind bars for a parole violation while facing new federal corruption charges.

The congresswoman's ex-husband, Bernard Kilpatrick, also is under federal investigation in an alleged pay-to-play city hall scheme.

The Kilpatrick name, once golden in Detroit, became "radioactive," Shields said. With Cheeks Kilpatrick likely replaced by Clarke, there will be at least four new members of the Michigan delegation in Washington next year. "We'll have to wait and see how things shake out," said Bill Rustem, president of Public Sector Consultants in Lansing. "There will be others who rise from Michigan. But we definitely lose clout for a period of time."

To Rustem, the congresswoman's loss is "another arrow in an unfortunate quiver of arrows that will not leave positive feelings in the Kilpatrick legacy. But some of the things she did will live on. If we get that light rail built down Woodward, she'll deserve credit."

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