Velázquez pleads not guilty at DUI arraignment

Seattle City Council candidate Venus Velázquez this morning pleaded not guilty to charges of driving under the influence, three days after being stopped by a police officer who said she was speeding and weaving in downtown Ballard.

"I made a mistake," she said after her arraignment. "The responsibility is here. The blame is no one else's but my own."

When asked what, exactly, she accepted blame for, she replied "for driving and not taking a cab."

Velázquez was stopped in her Volvo Wednesday night on Northwest Market Street after leaving a campaign event with a staffer. A Seattle police officer said Velázquez was going 50 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone, that she had crossed the center line, and that she was drifting from side to side.

She submitted to a roadside sobriety test but declined to take a breath-alcohol test at the police station.

The city prosecutor asked the judge to require $1,500 bail and an ignition interlock device that essentially prevents driving while impaired. Court Commissioner Adam Eisenberg declined, noting that Velázquez had no prior alcohol-related offenses.

In addition, her attorney, Bill Bowman, said Velázquez underwent an alcohol evaluation by a state-certified agency which found she was not a problem drinker.

Given that, Bowman said, the pretrial conditions imposed by Eisenberg — consume no alcohol and submit to a breath-alcohol test if stopped again while driving — were typical.

The candidate, who is seeking the City Council seat being vacated by Peter Steinbrueck, said the officer treated her fairly.

"I trust the court system and have confidence this situation will be resolved fairly and equitably," she said.

Maureen O'Hagan: 206-464-2562 or mohagan@seattletimes.com