He wanted to keep fighting the fallout from a political-sex scandal, but his twin boys convinced him to stop, Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has said.

Kilpatrick told the Dallas Morning News that his elder sons, now in the seventh grade, said they were tired and wanted to move forward.

Kilpatrick said in the interview, "We were shocked. We were all crying."

Kilpatrick's wife, Carlita, told the newspaper, "It's one of those moments where they led. Oftentimes, children have a much clearer view of things."

The scandal emerged from a sexual relationship between Kilpatrick and mayoral Chief of Staff Christine Beatty.

It had been reported that the revelation of the extra-marital affair was confirmed in text messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty.

It was further noted by the report that the convicted former mayor, whose 6 years in office were plagued by numerous scandals and rampant accusations of corruption, is to find out May 25 if he'll return to jail for hiding assets that could have been applied to a $1 million restitution to Detroit he was ordered to pay for his text message crimes.

Kilpatrick, who served 99 days in jail, announced a public fundraiser for himself on several new Web sites, anchored by friendsofkwame. com. (With Inputs from Agencies)