A Congressman from Indiana has resigned because he had an extramarital affair with a woman working for him. The Republican, Mark Souder was elected to Congress on a family values platform.

The Congressman was known as a hard line conservative that promoted family values as well as abstinence education. It appears as though he did not believe in abstinence for his staffer.

Hopefully, others that consider following in his footsteps will learn a a lesson or two from this experience.

Mark Souder's made a public statement regarding his resignation.

"It is with great regret I announce that I am resigning from the U.S. House of Representatives as well as resigning as the Republican nominee for Congress in this fall's election. Diane and my family were more than willing to stand here with me. We are a committed family. But the error is mine and I should bear the responsibility. I sinned against God, my wife and my family by having a mutual relationship with a part-time member of my staff. I am so shamed to have hurt those I love."

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is learning the hard way that once the system comes after you, it will seem like an unending nightmare.

The ex-mayor Kilpatrick pleaded guilty in 2008 to misconduct after sexually explicit text messages became public. He lied under oath about an affair with a staff member. The 39-year-old resigned, served 99 days in jail, agreed to give up his law license, repay the city $1 million, and stay out of politics for five years.

Newsweek reported that a bodyguard for the the mayor reported that the mayor's personal police posse was running amuck, crashing cars and racking up overtime. Then an investigation was started by a Deputy Police Chief. The Deputy Police Chief was fired weeks later.

The Deputy and the bodyguard decided to bring a whistleblower lawsuit against the mayor and the city. The city settled for 9 million. These two guys did well for themselves.

When asked about the affair under oath, Kilpatrick basically said it never happened. He did not realize that the sexual texts that he sent on his city owned pager could be accessed.

According to the Free Press, one text sent from his city owned pager read "I've been dreaming all day about having you all to myself for three days,." "Relaxing, laughing, talking, sleeping and making love."

First of all, he should have known that text messages and cell phones records are accessible. Second, he should also known that firing a police officer conducting an investigation of him and his staff is stepping over the line.

The ex-mayor made a deal to pay back the city 1 million dollars, and he is currently paying 3 thousand a month. The judge cited him for not being completely upfront about his assets even though he was making regular and timely payments. The judge may send him back to jail over this violation of probation.

I am sure that Kwame Kilpatrick feels like he cannot win and he is right.

Kevin Garn resigned as Utah's majority leader in the legislature after it became public that he spent time in a hot tub with a naked teenager.

Even though the event took place 25 years ago, Mr. Garn now 55 years old paid the women $150,000 to keep quiet in 2002.

It has been reported that the woman in this story who was a teenager at the time began contacting reporters about the incident during Kevin Garn's unsuccessful bid for a congressional seat in 2002.

Despite a confidentiality agreement, the now 40-year-old woman named Maher began contacting local news media last week to retell her story about being naked with Garn when she was 15.

We have to thank Kevin Garn for showing everyone the path not to take if you plan to run for politics in the future. He will go on with his life, but it will be extremely tough for him to hold a public leadership position in the future.

Governor Patterson is not well liked by the media in NY. How else do you explain many newspapers running front page articles based on rumors that a scandal was about to break?

There was no earth shattering news to report about Governor Patterson. What the media did was set the groundwork with voters about changing their minds if they were considering voting for him.

Remember that Governor Patterson was not elected. He won the seat when the former Governor Eliot Spitzer had to step down for a prostitution scandal. There are many powerbrokers in New York who have been rooting for former NY Governor Mario Cuomo's son to run for the governorship. There are others that thought Governor Patterson simply did not have enough appeal to win over New Yorkers.

Governor Patterson should have known that he was a marked man and there are always people watching his every move. After all, there are only two African Americans that have been elected Governor in the history of the Unites States.

Governor Patterson played right into the hands of his opponents supporters. Less than one week after announcing that he planned to run for a full four year term, he had to announce that he was abandoning his campaign.

This announcement came shortly after a New York Times report, which said the governor and a member of his security detail had contacted a woman pressing an abuse charge against a top Paterson aide.

The aide David Johnson who is seen in the picture above with Gov. Patterson had his share of critics. He is from Harlem and it has been reported that he overcame some drug related issues of his younger days to amass a good deal of political power working for the governor. It has been reported that some people resented having to go through Mr. Johnson to reach the governor.

Can anyone figure out why a sitting governor who is gearing up for a reelection campaign would be involved in contacting the wife of an aide who happens to be an alleged victim of domestic abuse about the incident? When people are looking for your missteps, you simply have to have all of your ducks lined up straight.

This is an unwritten rule in politics, especially if you are a black or Latino politician. Hopefully Governor Patterson's political suicide will keep another Brother Connected from making the same mistake in the future.

This is another political learning moment for all past, current, and future politicians. If this is your line of work, you must know the laws. Too many capable people who have managed to be elected by the people and come into power find themselves on the wrong side of the law over small amounts of money.

Baltimore's mayor was convicted Tuesday on a single charge she took gift cards intended for the city's poor. Although Sheila Dixon was acquitted of a felony theft charge, her conviction could force her from office.

Jurors deliberated more than six days after hearing the Democrat accused of using or keeping $630 worth of gift cards. She allegedly solicited most of the cards from a wealthy developer and then bought electronics at Best Buy, clothes at Old Navy and knickknacks at Target.

I am not sure why, but so many of these politicians being found guilty of financial transgressions have to do with a contractor or development - hint.

Mike Duvall, a Republican assemblyman from Yorba Linda, issued a statement announcing his resignation. the 54-year-old Duvall, who is married with two adult children, "received a 100 percent rating from a conservative advocacy group for his votes on legislation considered pro-family."

It has been reported that he was bragging about his sexual exploits while sitting near an open mike in a hearing room. Sources have stated that the two women to whom he referred worked as lobbyists.

Duvall used considerable graphic language and talks about his affair with a woman "19 years younger." The OC reported that the woman was a lobbyist for Sempra Energy. Duvall was vice chair of the Committee on Utilities and Commerce.

This is obviously a teachable moment for all current or future politicians.

Milan became Camden's first Hispanic mayor on July 1, 1997, a relative political newcomer who convinced voters he could turn the city around. His sentencing comes with the city still in a financial crisis and the state considering a takeover of government operations.

During his first term as mayor, he was indicted on a 19-count corruption case, and convicted on 14 of those counts, among them:

*laundered $65,000 in drug money
*staged a break-in with his former business partner to collect insurance money illegally
*accepted $30,000 to $50,000 in bribes from the Mafia
*used campaign money to pay for a vacation to Puerto Rico
*received two vehicles and thousands of dollars in free work on his home from city contractors
*authorized the shakedown of a $5,000 political contribution from the city's public defender

Politicians of color are in a position to make a difference even if it is small, and this opportunity should never be squandered because of personal interest that can ultimately remove them from office. In the case of Milan, one has to think about the decisions they make before they even go into politics since they can come back to bite them.

A jury in suburban Washington has convicted a former Louisiana congressman on 11 of 16 counts including bribery in a case in which agents found $90,000 in his freezer.

Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat who had represented parts of New Orleans, was accused of accepting more than $400,000 in bribes and seeking millions more in exchange for brokering business deals in Africa. He was convicted of charges including bribery, racketeering, and money laundering.

The defense argued that Jefferson was acting as a private business consultant in brokering the deals and that his actions did not constitute bribery under federal law.

Politicians of color are in a position to make a difference even if it is small, and this opportunity should never be squandered because of personal interest that can ultimately remove them from office.