Council candidate Velázquez pleads not guilty to DUI

With her husband at her side, Seattle City Council candidate Venus Velázquez apologized Saturday for the circumstances that led to her arrest on charges of driving under the influence — but she stopped short of admitting she had been intoxicated.

"I made a mistake," she said after being arraigned earlier in the morning. "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 pleaded not guilty to DUI at a routine arraignment; another court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 19.

The city prosecutor had 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.

Her attorney, Bill Bowman, said Velázquez underwent an alcohol evaluation by a state-certified agency in which she was "found to have no problem with alcohol."

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

On Wednesday night, Velázquez was stopped after allegedly speeding and weaving in Ballard. A Seattle police officer clocked Velázquez going 50 mph on Northwest Market Street, a 30 mph zone. She told the officer she had had two drinks with dinner.

Velázquez took a preliminary roadside breath test and blew higher than the legal limit, according to Bowman. She declined to take a breath test at the police station, which is typically the test admitted in court as evidence of drunken driving.

Refusing to take this test can result in an automatic license suspension of one year.

Bowman said that it's not unusual to get a higher reading in the roadside test than in the police-station test.

As for the seeming contradiction between pleading not guilty and accepting responsibility, Bowman said he wouldn't have let any client plead guilty under similar circumstances. And most judges wouldn't allow it at arraignment, either.

The court system will determine the level of Velázquez's responsibility. DUI cases can end in pleas to a variety of charges, including reckless or negligent driving, he noted.

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.

Velázquez is running against Bruce Harrell, a Seattle lawyer. It's unclear at this point how the arrest will play out in the Nov. 6 election. A number of organizations that endorsed Velázquez have said they will continue to stick by her.

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

Seattle Times reporters Sharon Pian Chan and Mike Carter contributed to this report.