It took a while, but the system worked.

The plea arrangement in which Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick resigned his office, agreed to a million-dollar restitution, surrendered his law license and agreed to a four-month jail term and five years of probation is appropriate and just.

Kilpatrick settled two felonies charging him with obstruction of justice stemming from his lying and manipulation of evidence in a police whistle-blower lawsuit and an assault charge stemming from a shoving incident involving a Wayne County Sheriff's deputy and prosecutor's investigator.

As Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy noted after Thursday's court hearing where Kilpatrick's guilty pleas were entered, it was important to make the point that perjury and obstruction of justice will not be tolerated.

The episode is tragic in the classic sense — a talented man was brought down by his own character flaws. Kilpatrick showed undeniable gifts as a state lawmaker and then as mayor, tackling difficult city budget problems and municipal labor relations issues with firmness and resolve. At the same time, he showed creativity and vision in winning large events and economic development projects for his city.

But Kilpatrick's skills and talent were matched by an arrogance that ultimately led to his self-destruction. He lied in court and caused the City Council to be misled into spending millions of dollars in a court settlement whose goal was to cover up his personal failings.

When he was ultimately caught, he dragged out the legal proceedings longer than necessary, subjecting the Detroit region to months of uncertainty.

Throughout it all, Worthy showed a tough-minded steadiness, insisting on penalties that would underline the importance of telling the truth in legal proceedings. "There have to be consequences" for misdeeds, she noted today.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, too, stepped up with her hearing to remove the mayor, using her constitutional authority to limit Kilpatrick's leverage to continue the region's paralysis.

The resolution finally allows Detroit to move on and gives it a chance again to confront its pressing economic and social problems with a renewed sense of urgency and good will.

REPRINTED FROM THE DETROIT NEWS.