Fired cop Gary Brown may challenge Kilpatrick’s mother for job in Congress

Robert Snell and Charlie LeDuff / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Fired Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown, fresh from beating Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick during the police whistle-blower trial, is mulling a campaign for mayor or against the mayor's mother, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick.

Brown and one of his consultants confirmed today that polling will begin soon to gauge his support for a run at mayor next year or a campaign this year for the 13th District, which spreads from the Grosse Pointes to Downriver.

Brown insists it's not personal and would only discuss his interest in taking on Cheeks Kilpatrick, 62. But his candidacy could turn what has traditionally been a campaign cakewalk for the six-term congresswoman into a bitter race with a subplot of the decorated deputy police chief against the mother of the man who ended his law enforcement career.

"I certainly don't blame her for anything he's done," Brown said. "It's really her record I want to run against, not him."

Brown said he plans to seed the campaign with money from the $3 million share settlement he received last year when a Wayne County jury found that Kilpatrick ousted him for investigating the mayor and his security team.

"I'm not saying I wouldn't support the campaign (with my own money), but I'm not going to fund it," Brown said. "A lot of folks tell me what a great job I did and that I stood up to the mayor and they are willing to help, but does that translate into dollars?"

You can reach Robert Snell at (313) 222-2028 or rsnell@detnews.com.