A blog about substance abuse among our elected officials and all government officials. The purpose is not necessarily to embarass or humiliate, but to provide awareness of substance abuse and addiction problems.
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California has its corrupt town of Bell (though certainly there are more), and Texas has its own gem of a town in Socorro.
The El Paso Times has numerous excellent articles detailing the problems facing Socorro due to the conduct (or misconduct) of its elected officials. This particular article is of interest to us at the Drunk Politician Blog.
Given that Socorro is a southern border town, what type of criminal activity do you think might be occurring there? Well, one Socorro City Councilman, Luis Varela, recently resigned from office due to his alleged involvement with - you guessed it – illegal drugs.
Varela is accused of selling weed and cocaine. He was arrested in November, allegedly with 27.5 grams of cocaine and around 44 pounds of marijuana. Hey, we know times are tough, but is it that bad that politicians have to turn into major illegal drug suppliers? Or are voters that clueless that we have to elect drug pushers?
Varela has an interesting record. Read more here. Was he a Democrat or a Republican? Actually we here at the Drunk Politician Blog and Substance Abuse CLE don’t know and we don’t care. If you are interested, it should be easy enough to find out by reading the El Paso Times articles, but it doesn’t matter to us. When it comes to problems with drugs and alcohol (using or selling) we have learned that no one political party has a monopoly.
Should marijuana be legalized? One politician might argue yes. Pennsylvania State Representative Paul Costa was arrested after a police officer observed the politician sharing a joint at a Pittsburgh Steeler tailgate party on October 3rd. The full story by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is here.
On November 24, 2010, Costa pled guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct and was fined $50. That story is here from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Costa is a member of House committees on commerce, liquor control, tourism and recreational development, and transportation. His brother is a state senator and his cousin is a former police chief of Pittsburgh and now serves as a state representative.
Costa happens to be a Democrat. But we must point out that the abuse of substances is conducted by members of each political party.
Hypothetically, what would happen to you if you were the Mayor of a town in South Carolina and decided to get involved in drugs and tried to kill someone. Well the answer is that you would not be Mayor for very long after that. Just ask Randolph Gurley. He was the Mayor Pro-Tem of Dillon, South Carolina.
Earlier this year Gurley got into an argument with a man. Apparently, Gurley took exception to the words that were spoken and he tried to run over the other man with his car – according to state police. Before that, Gurley is accused of trying to sell cocaine. My goodness, you would think the Mayor of a town would have better things to do. I mean remember Mayberry RFD? They never had problems like that. Or how about Green Acres? The biggest problem Mr. Douglas had was keeping his suit clean while shoveling cow manure. In modern times, the Mayor of small towns try to kill people and sell cocaine and weed.
Well, the Governor of South Carolina had enough. Governor Mark Sanford suspended Gurley until the charges against him can be resolved one way or another.
In between his gig of providing legal advice to the California cities of Chino and Rialto, City Attorney Jimmy Gutierrez managed to get arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. Last month, Gutierrez must have had too much wine and stayed out too late on a Friday night. He was arrested by California Highway Patrol just before 2:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
CHP officers noticed Gutierrez swerving on the freeway (that’s state highway for you East Coast readers) and stopped him. Gutierrez refused a field sobriety test but asked to provide a blood sample instead. He was taken into custody and released at 1:00 p.m. that afternoon.
Substance Abuse CLE unveiled new economic stimulus prices for Fall 2010. Each California MCLE lesson was only $14.00! Sorry if you missed it. Current prices have returned to $20.00.
Substance Abuse CLE provides quality and easily affordable continuing legal education classes that satisfy the MCLE requirement of the California Bar Association pertaining to the Prevention of Substance Abuse in the Legal Profession.
Substance Abuse CLE has just added a new lesson entitled An Attorney's Struggle With Methamphetamines. The purpose of this activity is to fulfill the California State Bar Rule 2.72 (A)(3) requirement by providing one hour of self-study credit in the prevention of substance abuse in the legal profession. Most lessons fulfilling this requirement provide generalized information on substance abuse, or are geared toward alcohol abuse and addiction. This new lesson focuses on facts about methamphetamine use and addiction by presenting a true case study about a California attorney’s struggle with methamphetamine addiction, the resulting misconduct, his resignation from the bar, and his recovery and petition for reinstatement to the bar.
This activity was approved by the California State Bar on July 16, 2010 for the period July 15, 2010 to July 14, 2012. The California State Bar provider number of Substance Abuse CLE is 15199.
A councilman from Findlay, Ohio, pleaded no contest to drunk driving and was ordered by the court to finish a 3-day driver education program in lieu of 3 days in the slammer. In addition, the councilman had to pay a $375 fine and $50 in court costs. The story is here and here.
The councilman’s drunken motoring occurred in June after he became intoxicated at a graduation party. He got behind the wheel of his car and was subsequently pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy. His blood alcohol level was 0.159. He later called his conduct “reprehensible.”
By now everyone has seen reports of the incredible corruption by officials from the city of Bell, California, particularly from the Los Angeles Times. With countless reports of elected and appointed officials basically stealing money from tax payers, we at Substance Abuse CLE couldn’t resist this opportunity to blog about it when we got the chance.
You know Robert Rizzo. He was the guy earning $787,637 to manage the City of Bell, whose population totaled only about 40,000 low and middle class workers. In addition, he was eligible for 28 weeks vacation and sick leave per year! Think about it, there are only 55 weeks in a year. Well, before his shocking salary was made public by the Los Angeles Times, Rizzo was arrested for driving while drinking.
According to numerous reports, such as the one here, Rizzo was arrested on March 6, 2010 in Huntington Beach, after he crashed his car into his neighbor’s mailbox. His blood-alcohol level was 0.28 percent. That’s more than three times the legal limit of .08! He was so drunk that the police had to stop the field sobriety test for Rizzo’s own safety.
Recently, Rizzo changed his not guilty plea to guilty, and was sentenced to a nine-month alcohol awareness program and 10 days of community service as a first-time offender.
Mt. Prospect, Illinois has a population over just over 56,265 people, and at least one drunk driver. Unfortunately it’s the city manager, Michael Janonis. Janonis pled guilty to DUI on June 21st. For the full story, see here.
Start with golf with old buddies, throw in several drinks, and then get behind the wheel. The result is sub-par. Janonis was pulled over after driving nearly 20 mph over the speed limit, and then blew a 0.21. His punishment: one year supervision for DUI, a $2,500 fine plus court costs, 10 hours of court mandated school, and 20 hours of counseling sessions. Embarrassment and humiliation was comes with the crime. He was on his way to a family function when he was arrested. Obviously, he never made it.
The historic town of Yardley, Pennsylvania was founded by William Yardley, who came to the colonies from England in 1682. It must have developed into a fun, happy place, because three local politicians there have been charged with DUI in the last year. The latest is Yardley Councilman Michael Ruttle. See the story here from the Bucks County Courier Times.
Ruttle, a 59-year-old lawyer and Democratic councilman, was charged with misdemeanor DUI charges in May. He has been a councilman since 2006. The criminal complaint indicates that at about 1:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, an officer saw Ruttle’s silver Honda Accord drift over the broken line and straddle both lanes, police said. Then, the car drifted over the road's fog line and rumble strips, until it was entirely on the shoulder of the road and nearly side-swiped the guard rail.
Once pulled over, Ruttle smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes. According to court records, Ruttle had a blood alcohol level of 0.141. Almost twice the .08 legal limit.
This month the mayor of the small Washington town of Port Orchard was arrested for DUI. Lary Coppola (Yes, he spells his name Lary), was arrested by police who say he blocked-in a truck delivering newspapers with his car at 1:30 a.m. State police were called to ensure that the mayor did not receive favorable treatment by the local police who recognized him. They said the mayor smelled of booze, and had slurred speech and blurry eyes. His blood alcohol level was measured to be above the legal limit.
Jeff Wood, a state representative from Wisconsin was sentenced to 45 days in the slammer for driving drunk. After checking out the facts from the Green Bay Press- Gazette, it could have been worse.
The story begins two years ago when Wood was on a 200 mile road trip from Madison. With a blood alcohol limit of twice the legal limit, he slammed his car into a highway sign in Columbia County. When a state trooper came upon the scene, he saw Wood pissing on the side of the road. The trooper found marijuana and a pipe inside of Wood’s car. A breath test confirmed Wood’s blood alcohol level. This was Wood’s third drunk driving offense. He was also charged with marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Then, last fall Wood was nailed again in two different counties for DUI.
This month, for his 2008 arrest, Wood pleaded no contest to the drunk driving charge. In return, the dope charges against him were dropped. But the judge also revoked Wood’s license for 27 months, ordered him to use an ignition interlock device for two years after he regains his license, get substance abuse treatment and pay $1,294 in court costs. The judge then fined Wood $318.50 on the dope pipe paraphernalia count and suspended his driver’s license for six months, to run simultaneously with the revocation.
It so happens that Wood is a Republican turned Independent, but substance abuse problems plague politicians from all parties – and we blog about them here. Wood claims that he is in treatment and that he has been sober for six months. Let’s hope he is serious.
A city councilman from Olympia, Washington, Joe Hyer, has decided to resign. Why? It apparently has something to do with his arrest on three felony drug counts involving Marijuana! See the story here.
Hyer was arrested in February for selling marijuana to a confidential informant. He pleaded not guilty on March 9, 2010 to charges of possession and delivery of a controlled substance. Hyer admitting to making an error in judgment, though in a court filing he claimed he was entrapped.
Involvement with illegal substances usually doesn’t have a happy ending. In many cases, the user's family suffers as well. Such is the case here. In a statement, Hyer said the ordeal has been horribly detrimental to his family. A couple of felony drug charges can ruin your day, and also your career and family life. Fortunately many users have paid the consequences and managed to put the pieces of their lives back together. Let’s hope Hyer does, too.
The financial situation in Los Angeles is so serious, according to the city controller, that the city will run out of cash in a month. Read here. So what is the city’s top budget analyst doing about it? Apparently driving around drunk in a city car! Here's the story.
Los Angeles’s City Administrative Officer, Miguel Santana, was arrested March 26, 2010 by the California Highway Patrol for allegedly driving under the influence after attending a charity event.
The CHP reported that Santana was speeding in a car owned by the city when he was pulled over. It was a Honda Civic. Hmm, at least he was getting good gas mileage! Santana was arrested in Covina, near Citrus Avenue and Navilla Place. He failed a field sobriety test. He submitted to a blood-alcohol test, but the CHP refused to release the results.
Santana had apparently been working on trying to solve L.A.’s $212-million budget deficit, which is expected to more than double next year. Four thousand jobs are on the line. Is the mayor sure he has the right man for the job? Santana reportedly entered treatment and will be away from his office for weeks.
Being arrested is one thing, being convicted is another. But if Santana is convicted and has his driving privileges suspended, he will be Walking in L.A.!
Just over two years ago, on March 6, 2008, a New York police officer one night noticed a car weaving back and forth and tapping its brakes without reason. Once pulled over, the driver told the officer he had only consumed a few drinks. But he reeked of alcohol and had blurred speech. He passed a field sobriety test, but then initially blew a .072 on a breathalyzer that he refused to complete. A woman in the back of the car was so drunk that she required temporary hospitalization.
The driver of the car turned out to be Adam Clayton Powell IV, an assemblyman from East Harlem. He was arrested on two drunk driving counts and his trial concluded last week. The result: not guilty of DUI, but guilty of the lesser offense of driving while impaired. Powell was fined $300 and his driver’s license was suspended for 90 days.
He blamed his ordeal on a police officer who he claims fabricated the entire incident.
The Mayor of Dickson City in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Anthony Zaleski, was caught slobbering drunk after he was pulled over during a traffic stop last Thanksgiving. The Mayor's speech was slurred, his breath smelled strongly of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot and watery, according to the patrolman. The officer further described the mayor as staggering around and standing on the side of the road. He was arrested for DUI.
But thanks to a special program, the Mayor may have the opportunity to erase the DUI charge from his criminal history, because he is a first time offender. The program he is applying for is called Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition. His crime could be expunged from his record if he successfully completes a probationary period, which is usually several months.
Zaleski said he was greatly embarrassed by the incident, but has no intention of stepping down from as mayor or as chairman of the Lackawanna County Stadium Authority Board.
A councilwoman, Pam Walzer, from Missoula, Montana was arrested for DUI late February. She pled guilty this month. The story is here.
Walzer was charged with misdemeanor DUI, her first offense, and was booked at the Missoula County Detention Facility shortly after 2 a.m. She posted bail, which was $500 and was released within the hour.
The local politician admitted to driving with a blood alcohol content greater than 0.08, above the legal limit, but did not admit to driving while intoxicated. She was given a six-month suspended jail sentence, a $400 fine and a $101 surcharge.
In her apology, she admitted to making "a human error in judgment." She went on to claim that her flawed judgment did not affect her ability to serve her constituent. She intends to remain on the City Council.
There are no facts in this story to suggest that Walzer is an alcoholic. Her alcohol related incident is just an episode of alcohol abuse. But lets remember people that alcohol abuse can be just as harmful as dependence on alcohol. Walzer drank too much, which effected her judgment, and she got behind the wheel of her car. Other problems, beside drunk driving arrests, associated with alcohol abuse include not being able to meet work, school, or family responsibilities.
A councilman from Hendricks County, Indiana got a little sleepy after boozing it up, and decided to take a nap in his car. The problem was that he was driving his car before he decided to sleep it off. And as we all know, it is ILLEGAL to drive while intoxicated.
Police happened upon the councilman’s car and found him asleep behind the wheel at a railroad crossing. Apparently he dozed off while stopping for a passing train. Police found it odd that someone would use their car and the road for their bedtime, so they roused him and found his blood alcohol level to be 0.13. The councilman was arrested and thrown in the Hendricks County Jail overnight until he made $1,500 bond in the morning.
I do not know the councilman’s body weight. But assuming he is around 220 pounds, he would have had to consume 7 to 8 drinks in one hour to get that drunk. Well at least he was drunk on his own time, right? Getting drunk and driving has no bearing on one’s judgment, right? What he does in his personal life, no matter how stupid or dangerous is of no concern to the people who elected him, right? Hmmmm
Okay, it is true that this blog is called the Drunk Politician Blog, but I also want to include state officials, even though they may not have been elected. And this story, involving an assistant school principle and teacher, is too good to pass up.
It appears that the life of an educator in Houston is so bad that teachers and administrators must resort to illegal drug use to get by. In this case, that involves cocaine use. The story is here.
In late February 2010 the assistant principal for Chancellor Elementary School and an English teacher from Stafford High School were arrested outside a bar on charges of cocaine possession. A police officer noticed that they were acting suspiciously inside the teacher’s car and approached. I wonder if by acting suspiciously, that means snorting cocaine up their noses. At any rate, as the police officer drew closer he saw the teacher toss two bags filled with white powder on his passenger seat. The powder was tested and it turned out to be cocaine. The teacher already had a DWI conviction from 2004 in court on Monday.
Cocaine is the most potent stimulant of natural origin. It can be snorted, smoked, or injected. The high from snorting cocaine may last 15 to 30 minutes, but the high from smoking may last only 5 to 10 minutes. In order to keep that high, a coke user has to take another hit. For this reason, cocaine is sometimes abused in binges within a relatively short period of time, and at higher doses. Physical effects of cocaine use include constricted blood vessels and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Coke users may also feel restless, irritable, and anxious. Cocaine is powerfully addicting.
Are these the kind of dedicated professionals we want teaching our young children? Lets hope they are punished, treated, and return to productive lives. Until then, keep them away from our kids.
Think one little alcohol related incident won’t ruin your day, or have much effect on your life? Perhaps that is what California State Senator Roy Ashburn thought as he left a Sacramento bar around 2:00 a.m. and drove off. That’s probably not what he is thinking now. After police saw him driving erratically, he was pulled over and arrested for DUI. That in itself could be a big deal for a Republican who has tried to position himself as being strong on moral family values. In such a case, just one DUI could ruin a person’s career. Well, as we hear so often on commercials: but wait, there’s more! It is alleged that the bar from which the conservative state senator emerged in his drunken stupor was none other than Faces, a well-known Sacramento gay bar!
Stories are all over the internet. For a story on his arrest, see this short AP report. For the more provocative stories concerning where may have been, see here and here.
Hey Senator, take a walk on the wild side? For the purposes of the Drunk Politician Blog, we could care less whether or not someone is gay, straight, Democrat or Republican. The point is that a person’s sexual orientation or political philosophy doesn’t have anything to do with substance abuse. Alcohol does not discriminate! Alcohol is a strong contributing factor in putting Senator Ashburn in the position he is now in.
There is some dispute about whether the senator really did come from a gay bar. See here. Perhaps this is just some political hit job perpetrated by opponents of California’s Proposition 8, a voter initiative which officially makes marriage in California between a man and a woman. Senator Ashburn is known to have been in favor of Proposition 8. He has also taken a position on other legislation for which he has been labeled as being “anti-gay.” He has made lots of political enemies.
Forget the political debate for a second. The point we are making here is that were it not for his excessive alcohol consumption and his apparent decision to drive while intoxicated, would Senator Ashburn be in the center of this controversy now? Most definitely not.
In the military, Senator Ashburn’s DUI would be classified as an alcohol related incident and annotated in his record book. This is just one occasion of alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse differs from alcohol dependence, in that it is not a disease. A person can abuse alcohol without being an alcoholic. A person may drink too much and too often but still not be dependent on alcohol. Some alcohol related problems include not being able to meet work, school, or family responsibilities; drunk-driving arrests and car crashes; and drinking-related medical conditions. Under some circumstances, even social or moderate drinking is dangerous--for example, when driving, during pregnancy, or when taking certain medications.
Something else Senator Ashburn should have considered is that alcohol depresses your central nervous system, lowers your inhibitions, and impairs your judgment. Drinking can lead to risky behaviors, such as unprotected sex - but we won’t go there in this post!
A Westchester County Legislator was caught with cocaine while he sat in a car in Queensbury. He was apparently headed with a friend to Killington, Vermont for the weekend. They stopped at a gas station, but not only to get gas, but to get gassed. I guess there’s nothing like a snort of cocaine to start the weekend. It used to be that a road trip included just some drinks, now it includes getting high on illegal drugs.
Someone spotted the honorable elected official getting high and called the police. The cops found cocaine in the car. The Westchester County legislator was arrested and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, which is only a misdemeanor. Just before he was arrested the man cried that he could lose his job. Well, he should have thought of that before he took the cocaine and snorted it up his nose. He should have thought about his job, the people who voted for him, and especially his family.
He said he has no plans to resign. Presumably he believes that its okay for politicians to break laws, as long as it doesn't effect their judgment. Wait, what kind of judgment did he demonstrate here? I guess his belief is that no one cares. He claimed it was an isolated incident, an aberration. But how does it come to be that two supposedly responsible men just pull up in a gas station and commence using cocaine? Is this really a first time for him. We will have to let his constituents decide.
Coke, Dust, Toot, Snow, Blow, Sneeze, Powder, Lines, Rock, Crack. These are all slang for various forms of the drug cocaine. The use of cocaine causes a short-lived high that is immediately followed by opposite, intense feelings of depression, edginess, and a craving for more of the drug. Cocaine is snorted as a powder, converted to a liquid form for injection with a needle, or processed into a crystal form to be smoked.
Cocaine is a highly addictive substance. Cocaine affects normal brain function by interfering with the manner in which one’s brain processes chemicals that create feelings of pleasure. The result is that a cocaine user often needs more of the drug just to feel normal. Cocaine is relatively expensive, and regular users can spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on cocaine each week. As the addiction becomes strong some users will do anything to support their habit, even resorting to crime to obtain money. The impaired judgment caused by cocaine use may also lead to a host of other problems. People who become addicted to cocaine may lose interest in other areas of their life, such as work and friends.
This elected official is a Republican. So it just goes to show that illegal substances don’t discriminate and love to be abused by politicians of any party.
At any rate, lets hope he learned a lesson and seeks help.
All of us have heard the warning that you should not drink and drive. Many responsible, law abiding citizens do in fact heed this warning by arranging alternative transportation if they know they may be going out to have a drink or two. Some of us take taxis, some use a designated driver. All it takes is a little planning. We know the consequences. Since drinking impairs our motor skills and judgment, driving after drinking can result in an accident and injury to others. That is why it is against the law.
How terrible it is to find out that those that have been elected to public office disregard the laws by exhibiting irresponsible and lawless behavior. Take this Mayor from Union Springs, Alabama. He was arrested the day after Christmas for drunk driving. The story is here.
Apparently his step-daughter was stopped for driving without lights. She called the Mayor who arrived in his car reeking of alcohol. After failing a field sobriety test he was busted for drunk driving, and also for obstructing government operations to boot. Apparently he became indignant in his impaired condition, and tried to stop the officers from writing up a citation.
Alcohol affects every organ in the body, not just our brains. It is a central nervous system depressant that is rapidly absorbed from the stomach and small intestine into our bloodstream. Alcohol is metabolized in the liver, but our liver can only metabolize a small amount of alcohol at a time. The safe rule of thumb is one drink per hour. Otherwise excess alcohol circulates throughout the body. When alcohol gets to our brain cells it slows reaction time and impairs judgment and coordination. These are the skills we need to drive safely. Obviously the more alcohol consumed, the greater the impairment.
In the Marines, we recognized a difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction – or alcoholism. Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking that results in harm to one’s health, interpersonal relationships, or ability to work. Alcohol abuse can lead to a failure to fulfill responsibilities at work, school or home. Alcohol abuse is drinking in dangerous situations, such as while driving. Alcohol abuse can lead to legal problems. We would call a DUI one alcohol related incident of alcohol abuse.
Alcohol abuse can lead to alcohol dependence. Alcoholism is a diagnosable disease characterized by a strong craving for alcohol, continued use despite harm or personal injury, the inability to limit drinking, physical illness when drinking stops, and the need to increase the amount consumed to feel the effects of alcohol.
For Marines, those involved in an alcohol related incident receive counseling, or just simple education about the dangers of substance abuse and addiction. Especially if the Marine involved is an NCO or officer. That’s because we expect our NCOs and Officers to lead by example. How about our elected officials?
In case you haven’t heard, some are saying that Senator Max Baucus of Montana was drunk when he spoke on the Senate floor during the health care debate. Video of his sloppy performance is posted all over the internet. For a great objective analysis see Mark Schenker’s December 30, 2009 post on Associated Content.
Senator Baucus is a Democrat, so it would not be surprising to see him attacked from Republicans. However, if indeed the Senator was drunk, it should be noted that substance abuse and addiction problems are not unique to one political party. For instance alcohol addiction can be caused by genetic and environmental factors. Both factors do not have to be present for a drinker to become dependent on alcohol. Alcohol depedence is not caused by one's political philosophy.
Senator Baucus' judgment was already under fire after he recommended a staffer-turned-girlfriend to be the U.S. attorney for Montana. See a sample article here from the Washington Post.
If Senator Baucus was drunk, it would be right to report on the incident and call him out. Those responsible for creating the laws of this nation should be held to a very high personal and moral standard. Alcoholism is a disease, but the conduct of a drunk must not be condoned. Slamming and confronting a drunk, and making him realize that he has a problem, is often how treatment begins.
The mayor from Russellville, Missouri was forced to resign after he was arrested for drunk driving. The disgraced mayor blew a 0.16 – twice the legal limit.
A former volunteer firefighter, the mayor was arrested Feb. 3 for drunk driving and disobeying law enforcement. Ironic that his arrest occurred at the scene of a barn fire. Approximately a week after his arrest the mayor appeared in court and pled guilty to misdemeanor DWI. He then resigned from office. He also took his name off the ballot for the April mayoral election. The local prosecutor said the mayor paid the standard $500 fine and won’t have to go to jail. Until the April 6 election, Larry Crocker will be the acting mayor of Russellville.
This is the price one pays for driving while drunk. According to this blood alcohol chart at BRAD21, a 200 pound man would have to consume between 8 and 9 drinks to reach a BAC or 0.16. That’s a lot of drinks.
What are the effects of having that many drinks? At a BAC of 0.13-0.15 BAC the drinker suffers gross motor impairment and lack of physical control, blurred vision, and major loss of balance. The feelings of euphoria that comes with getting drunk begins to turn into dysphoria (anxiety, restlessness). Judgment and perception are severely impaired.
At 0.16-0.19 BAC dysphoria predominates – an unpleasant or uncomfortable mood, such as sadness, anxiety, irritability, or restlessness. Nausea may appear. The drinker has the appearance of a "sloppy drunk."
How much time and effort did it require for this man to become mayor? One thing is for sure, it only took a very short time for him to throw it all away. Not only will he suffer, but his family will suffer as well. That’s something for all of us to think about the next we drink and have to figure out how to get home.
A City Council member from Holland, Michigan failed sobriety tests and then blew more than twice the state's legal limit for driving. Fortunately, he was arrested for operating while intoxicated.
According to the article, the person that voters’ trust to enact and uphold local laws slid off of a highway connecting ramp and ended up on the median. Police observed the helpless politician’s headlights from highway and went to the rescue. For reasons not given, the officer suspected the 15 year city council member had been drinking. Perhaps it was the slurred speech or that he reeked of alcohol. At any rate, the politician blew a 0.18 on the breathalyzer. That’s more than twice the state’s legal limit of 0.08.
What does it take to get to a 0.18? We don’t know how much the 58-year-old elected official weighs. But according to one Wikipediachart, a 180 pound man would have to consume about 7 drinks to get that smashed.
His arraignment on the misdemeanor charge is set on a walk-in basis and he must appear before Feb. 18.
The mayor said the alleged offense will not have any effect on the councilman. The charge doesn’t disqualify the councilman from continuing to serve on the city council. Furthermore, the council was not expected to discuss the incident. That’s because the incident does not affect any legal requirements of his being part of the council. Hmm? I guess the council doesn’t mind its members getting sloshed and driving around town blitzed. After all, he has a clean record up to this, only two speeding tickets since 2003.
Hey, I’m not saying don’t drink. But drinking and driving? What about exercising good judgment? Is that asking too much of the people elected to public office? This local leader is damn lucky he didn’t kill anyone. Hopefully his arrest will serve as a wake-up call.
