DETROIT -- She's the wife of a one of the nation's most powerful congressmen and is one of the most volatile and unpredictable elected leaders in Detroit.

Monica Conyers is unapologetic, and what others call a temper, she calls passion.

One day after calling reporters "evil," Conyers said she is working on controlling her temper.

When asked why she said what she did, Conyers said she does it because reporters stick microphones in her face and yell at her. She said, "I don't want to yell back at you, even though you push my buttons. I don't react to you."

Conyers did not specify which reporters had yelled at her.

Instant Feedback:Conyers As Council President

The FBI is looking at which council members took money in the Synagro sludge contract, and agents are investigating Monica Conyers.

When asked about the Synagro deal, she said there is no evidence she did anything wrong. Conyers said, "I don't have a reason to fear. Everything that I have learned, I learned from you guys, what you put in the paper, what you have said about me."

The wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers told The Associated Press Tuesday that she would like others to see her as "someone who cares about the city, someone who wants to make sure all the citizens of Detroit have what they need to live" productive lives.

But that's not the side of the first-term Detroit councilwoman that typically makes headlines.

Last month, she was involved in a disturbance at a Denver hotel while attending the Democratic National Convention with her husband. Conyers also has been accused of threatening to shoot a mayoral staffer and publicly called the city council president -- and now incoming mayor -- "Shrek."

Next week she takes over the council president Ken Cockrel's job.

When Local 4's Roger Weber asked her how she would characterize her relationship with Ken Cockrel right now, she said, "I think it's a good relationship. You guys just overblow things, you know. Me, I think you have one blow-up and you think that the world has ended, and with me I don't hold grudges."

Conyers said she chaired the council meeting for a while on Tuesday, and she thinks she is calm when she chairs.

Her priorities as city council president will be making sure city services are delivered to Detroit residents. She also wants to see progress in the Cobo Center expansion deal and the sale of the Detroit Windsor tunnel to help plug a hole in the city budget deficit.