Detroit councilman Kwame Kenyatta, Wife, Monifa Kenyatta, walk Away from Mortgage

Detroit city councilman, Kwame Kenyatta, who plans to run for mayor and his wife have walked away from the mortgage on their house. Great. The perfect role model for elected office.

According to the Detroit News, the couple moved out in December and decided to default on their mortgage after unsuccessfully seeking a solution with a mortgage company. The newspaper says Monifa Kenyatta bought the two-story brick house for $225,000 in 2004, but it's now worth about $100,000. I know that the banks would rather work something out with you than have one more house added to their inventory to sit unoccupied and empty for a period of time. I know that many banks and lenders won't bat an eye to modifying your loan until you have gone in default, but there has to be a better way than just walking away.

Kwame Kenyatta has announced plans to file to run in the city's regularly scheduled election. The primary is in August, followed by the general election in November. NBA legend Dave Bing and Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. are on the ballot for a May 5 election to complete ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's second term.

Maybe he was terribly underwater with this house and decided to walk away, but what will his credit look like? Especially in light of the fact that he is running for a mayoral position to manage the city of Detroit. He just killed his chances.