After an extraordinary day that saw him plead guilty to two felonies, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spoke for the first time publicly this evening.

Telling Detroiters "I've always said that you need to stand strong for the City of Detroit...but sometimes standing strong means stepping down," Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick delivered a televised speech that was part-apology, part campaign speech.

As his mother, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick watched, Kilpatrick said, "I want to emphasize tonight that I take full responsibility for my actions ... our challenge now is to put the anguish and the turmoil of recent months behind us."

Kilpatrick then proceeded to take light jabs at Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who he said put his removal above the many other problems facing the state. He said, though, that he would continue to support her.

“I'm stepping down because the new spirit of this city, the new expectations and standards that we've set for excellence in the past six and a half years has been tangled up in what I believe is the pursuit of many people's own political ambitions, even our governor, Jennifer Granholm, who I wish well,” he said. “Rather than focusing on the huge issues that are facing our state, from the record home foreclosures, the lack of affordable healthcare, a record unemployment in our state, Kwame Kilpatrick was at the top of her list,” he said. “I wish her well and hope that the same tenacity, the same professionalism, if you will, and intensity that went around putting together a quasi-administrative court will also be the same tenacity to solve the problem of the people of the state of Michigan.”

Granholm’s spokeswoman Liz Boyd responded: “The governor wishes Godspeed to the mayor and his family. With this behind us, leaders of our state and Detroit can devote 100 percent of their attention to growing the economy and creating jobs.”