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One way not to get Seattlest's vote is to endanger our life, like city council candidate Venus Velazquez did on Wednesday night while she was giving a whole new meaning to "Ballard drivers."
We, like Velazquez, were driving in Ballard that night.
After leaving a show at the Tractor, we got in our trusty Saturn and rolled up 20th N.W. to Market, where we hung a right.
Thank Jesus, we hung our right about 15 minutes before, according to police reports [pdf via Slog], Velazquez came flying down Market, weaving across the center line, at fucking FIFTY!
When a Ballard cop stopped her, the only identification she had was a credit card. He walked back to his car, and when he came back, her breath was "minty."
Remember kids--it's ok to drive drunk without your license, as long as you have breath mints. (?)
Velazquez released a statement last night:
I do not believe I was impaired—but I respect the system that will ultimately make that judgment.As someone who could've been smashed into oblivion by her, this strikes us as complete and utter bullshit. If you weren't impaired, why the shit were you driving 50 mph down Market?
Possibly the only good thing to come out of this is that, because she refused to take a breathalyser test, Velazquez' license is suspended for a year. Maybe she and Jerramy Stevens can trade busing tips.
Erica C. Barnett of the Stranger attempts to generate sympathy for Velazquez' thusly: "I doubt any drinker who reads this blog can say they’ve NEVER gotten behind the wheel after a celebratory night."
Yeah, sure we have--but when we get behind said wheel we don't drive fifty miles per hour. We drive exactly the speed limit, and in as straight and paranoid a manner as possible. And we aren't even running for office.
Now, the fact is, we were going to vote for Velazquez' opponent, Bruce Harrell, anyway, because he went to our alma mater (Garfield), and because he was an All Pac-10 linebacker for the Huskies. But now we have a third reason--Harrell's never nearly killed us.
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Not defending her (since, unlike you, I like to have all the facts before I render judgment), but I daresay you could stand out on Market Street with a radar gun most any night and find non-impaired drivers going 50.
As counterpoint, Seth, with her license suspended she's sure to be a force for transit! Maybe that's the Stranger's angle.
because he went to our alma mater (Garfield), and because he was an All Pac-10 linebacker for the Huskies.
Good reasons, both.
Big Yaz, I'm not exactly sure what facts I ought to be waiting for...
Fact: Velazquez was driving 50 (radar gun reading).
Fact: She crossed the center line (which she admitted).
Fact: She had been drinking (which she admitted).
Judgment: Had I made my turn a few minutes later, I'd be pissing into a tube right now.
I don't have a big problem with driving after you've had a few. Fine, go slow, stay on residential streets. I do have a big problem with people endangering my life by driving nearly double the speed limit on a busy city arterial and weaving over the center line, whether they've had a few or not.
It's amazing to me that people are defending her, just because they support her campaign (or maybe work for it?). Would they still support her if she'd hit and killed somebody while weaving around Market Street at 50 mph? I doubt it. And the only reason she didn't kill anybody is luck. She was lucky that a cop pulled her over before something worse happened. As a cyclist, I see people like her as a threat to my life.
Nevertheless, I would be willing to still vote for her if she admitted she had a problem and agreed to get help. But her attitude after the arrest is why I won't vote for her. Such arrogance, and lying the way she did? Two drinks? Sweetie, unless those were two Big Gulps of pure grain alcohol, you did not just have two drinks. The attitude is pretty shocking. A public office is a public trust, as the saying goes, and I don't believe she deserves our trust. I am not sure if I will vote for her opponent , or just not vote for anyone for that position. But I am not going to vote for Venus.
I agree, all public officials caught breaking any law should be locked up in the ye olde towne square pillory. Or stoned. Or beheaded.
Who are you agreeing with, mmbb? Cause nobody in these comments said anything remotely like that!
what the hell does him being a football player have to do with anything?
"Big Yaz, I'm not exactly sure what facts I ought to be waiting for..."
Well, in this country we have these things called courts. (Or do you just always assume the police are right. I sure don't...)