Murrietta’s former Mayor, Alan Long, won re-election to Murritta’s City Council Tuesday despite crashing into a car full of teenage girls while allegedly under the influence of alcohol. California State Senator Ben Hueso was also re-elected Tuesday after facing DUI charges.
Long attracted national media attention during massive protests against the importation of illegal aliens to his city for processing from Texas U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention facilities.
He resigned from his position as mayor after the October car crash, telling CBS Los Angeles, “Once the legal process is complete, I feel I will be exonerated, and therefore see no reason why I should not seek re-election.”
The former mayor came in second among three winning positions on Murrietta’s City Council with 17% or 5,339 votes. The top vote-getter in the race received 20% of the vote, and the third received 13.6%.
Ranging in age from 14 to 17, the four Murrieta Valley High School students were reportedly taken to local hospitals after the crash with “moderate to major injuries,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
In an October statement following the event, Long’s attorney told the Los Angeles Times, “Anytime you have a public official, you will always have cries for resignation. Because he’s mayor, you go out to ceremonial occasions. And you’d rather focus on the event at hand than be asked personal questions — and that’s what would happen.”
Long is not the only elected official to be re-elected Tuesday after facing DUI allegations.
In San Diego, State Senator Ben Hueso, a Democrat, was re-elected November 4 despite charges that resulted after Hueso was stopped August 22 on suspicion he was driving under the influence of alcohol. Hueso’s arraignment was rescheduled for November 6, two days after the election. He has been offered lesser charges in place of the DUI counts. Hueso’s percentage of votes as of November 5 was reported on California’s Secretary of State website at 55.1%.
Numerous Democrat legislators have faced criminal violations and suspension from their political positions in California. Senators Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), Ronald Calderon (D-Montebello), and Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood) were suspended over criminal violations, leading to Senate approval of three “ethical behavior” measures, Breitbart’s William Bigelow reported in May of this year.
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