Wednesday, the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered the city of Detroit to release the remainder of the settlement documents that were used to keep secret the fact that Kilpatrick and then-Chief of Staff Christine Beatty committed perjury last year. The court made the right decision, as the city’s argument was weak and flawed. Unfortunately, this also means the mountain of controversy will only grow, and not just in Michigan.

With it will come the tidal wave of negative national coverage that will delight all of the naysayers who love to pick on Michigan, and Detroit in particular. The city of Detroit cannot afford this, the state cannot afford this and most importantly, the citizens deserve better. Whether forced out by a court or through his own resignation, the only opportunity for progress in Detroit from here on depends on Kilpatrick leaving the mayor’s office.

Kilpatrick’s primary defense thus far has been to point to his successes as mayor. Indeed, the mayor has an impressive list of accomplishments related to downtown development and has recently made a much-needed and long-overdue effort to address development in some of the city’s most deserving neighborhoods. Much of this has been attributed to the mayor’s personality, and I will attest he is an incredibly charismatic politician.

However, in suggesting he will remain mayor by merit of these accomplishments, Kilpatrick is being ridiculous. Given that the mayor did this with public money only makes it worse. Despite his assertions that this is a “private matter,” the abuse of millions of dollars of public money and lying under oath make it a public issue. It’s also perplexing that a handful of people have been supporting the mayor. It is quite sad to see the robbed rooting for the robber.

I have had the opportunity in the past year to be part of the process by which a major philanthropic foundation in Detroit awards grant money to deserving schools in the city. The final step involves an eight-hour visit to the school where various members of the school community — teachers, non-instructional staff, the principal, counselors, parents and students — bend over backward to show off the exciting things happening in their school and why they deserve more funding. On these visits, I have seen some things that have inspired me and changed my perspective of urban schools, and on some of these visits, I have seen things that made me very angry and sad. What I have witnessed in every one of these schools is a genuine determination to serve the children and families of Detroit.

With this context in mind, it is painful to hear that the mayor thought it was acceptable to spend about $9 million that could have been used to build a better future for the children of Detroit. Instead, it was used to cover up his own lies and sexual affairs. The members of these school communities are willing to do almost anything for $50,000. That $9 million, theoretically, could have easily been used to give every school in the city a grant that size.

Could Detroit become the next Chicago with Kilpatrick as mayor? Certainly, but it would become the next Chicago in terms of its corrupt politicians and government, not on the side of wealth, tourism or image. There are plenty of good things happening in Detroit, and I invite anyone who disagrees to come and see for themselves, but the mayor and his office are no longer part of this list — they are part of the problem.

I hope that all parties involved press to bring the mayor to justice and punish him to the extent of the law for his crimes. The best hope for Detroit lies with Kilpatrick moving on and a new leader stepping up to lead the city into the future.

Ryan Dinkgrave is a State News columnist. Reach him at dinkgra2@msu.edu.