Councilor resigns after DWI arrest

Michael D. Cook drove his car and his position as the District 7 representative on the Albuquerque City Council into a concrete gutter late Wednesday night.

Cook was arrested on suspicion of DWI after an Albuquerque police officer witnessed the one-term councilor, who earlier this week had announced he would seek re-election in October, swerve off eastbound Candelaria near San Pedro NE, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

Hours after news of his arrest broke, Cook resigned his council seat.

He did not return Journal telephone calls seeking comment, but public relations specialist Gerges Scott released a statement on behalf of Cook, a Republican whose district covers the Uptown area and mid-Northeast Heights.

“I am resigning my position as the District 7 City Councilor effective today,” the statement said. “I am a man that believes in personal responsibility and accountability. It is because of these beliefs I feel it is best for the city and my community that I step down as City Councilor, I do not want to distract any attention from the needs or goals of the city.”

Mayor Richard Berry will appoint a replacement to serve District 7 at least until the October election.

According to the criminal complaint:

The APD officer saw Cook drive into the “concrete gutter.” The officer attempted to run Cook’s license plate through the state Motor Vehicle Division database, but the plate was “obscured by a black splotch in the middle.”

The officer stopped Cook and, after walking up to his vehicle, noticed that the councilor smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot, watery eyes. Cook could not provide proof of vehicle registration.

Cook performed poorly on field sobriety tests and, after his arrest, police measured his blood alcohol concentration at or above the state’s presumed level of intoxication, which is 0.08 percent.

Police booked Cook into the Metropolitan Detention Center on charges of first-offense DWI, a misdemeanor, failure to maintain a traffic lane, driving without a license plate and failure to provide proof of registration.

He was released hours later on his own recognizance, and an arraignment is scheduled for April 24, according to court and jail records.

Cook works as a financial planner and, before joining the City Council, served as a member and chairman of the Albuquerque Police Oversight Commission.

He was elected to the City Council in 2009, and was known during his three-plus years on Albuquerque’s governing board as a quiet member who typically voted along party lines with the other Republicans.

In an interview earlier this week, Cook told the Journal he planned to seek a second term in the October election. At the time, he said he would continue to bring a fiscally conservative approach to budgeting and be a proponent for small businesses.

Diane Gibson, a former machinist at Sandia National Laboratories, announced plans last month to run against Cook for the District 7 seat. Gibson, a Democrat, now works as a tax adviser.

City elections are, technically, nonpartisan, meaning candidates’ party affiliations aren’t listed on the ballot. Candidates can begin picking up petitions to get on the ballot for the election on May 1. They must turn those petitions in to the City Clerk by June 28.

This will be the second time Berry gets to appoint someone to the council in recent months.

In December, he appointed Republican businesswoman Roxanna Meyers to the District 2 seat after Democrat Debbie O’Malley won election to the Bernalillo County Commission.

Regarding the new appointment, Berry spokeswoman Breanna Anderson said in a written statement: “Understanding that this is a critical time in the city, with the upcoming budget and the need for District 7 to have representation, the mayor will work towards making an appointment in the near future.”

Through Anderson, Berry praised Cook’s service on the council for moving “important projects forward.”

“This is a regrettable situation, but we feel he did the right thing,” the mayor said in the statement.
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal