Michigan Congress debate marked by boos

DETROIT, July 29 (UPI) -- A U.S. Congressional debate between the mother of embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and her challengers degenerated into chaos, observers say.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Carol Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., the mayor's mother, and challengers Martha Scott and Mary Waters held a debate Monday at a church in Detroit's east side that was marked by catcalls and boos from the audience as the candidates took shots at each other, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.

The Free Press said moderator Bankole Thompson of the Michigan Chronicle newspaper attempted to maintain order, but highly partisan audience members apparently came ready for a fight. The fireworks began when Waters, a former state legislator, accused Cheeks Kilpatrick of being "asleep at the wheel" when the U.S. Postal Service decided to relocate a sorting center from Detroit to Pontiac, Mich.

The Free Press said the crowd reacted angrily until Pastor Marvin Winans of the Perfecting Church urged those present to maintain decorum.

"I want us to respect all of our candidates," Winans said. "Just calm down."