Former council candidate Venus Velázquez not guilty of drunken driving

A jury this afternoon returned a not-guilty verdict in the drunken driving trial of a former Seattle City Council candidate who lost the 2007 race after her arrest.

Venus Velázquez, 42, admits she drank two gin and tonics with dinner after a campaign stop in Ballard on Oct. 17, 2007, but she contends she wasn't drunk, her attorney said Tuesday at the start of her Seattle Municipal Court trial. Velázquez was arrested by Seattle police after she was pulled over, but refused to take a breath test.

Her attorney, Bill Bowman, told jurors she now regrets that decision. "She believes if she had taken the test she would have beaten it."

The jury deliberated less than two hours before returning with the verdict.

According to police, Velasquez was driving 50 mph in a 30-mph zone on Northwest Market Street and crossed the center line before she was pulled over.

Velázquez's attorneys have questioned whether she was treated fairly by police and the Seattle City Attorney's Office because of her candidacy. City Attorney Tom Carr had endorsed her opponent, Bruce Harrell, in the election, but Carr said he had recused himself from her case.

Despite the endorsement of the man she sought to replace, Peter Steinbrueck, Velázquez lost the November 2007 election to Harrell.

Velázquez is a Mount Baker public-relations specialist.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com