Politician Denounces Drunk Driving a Week Before Getting a DUI

Brian Kolb was arrested on New Year's Eve for driving under the influence.

Do as I say, not as I do. A New York legislator has been charged with drunk driving a week after writing an op-ed denouncing the dangerous practice.

"This was a terrible lapse in judgment, one I have urged others not to make, and I take full responsibility for it," said Assemblymember Brian Kolb, the top Republican in the New York Assembly, in a statement Wednesday.

Ontario County police arrested the lawmaker Tuesday night after he failed a field sobriety test at the scene of an accident. According to The New York Times, Kolb had crashed his state-issued 2018 GMC Acadia in a ditch in front of his house.

His behavior runs against advice Kolb offered his constituents in a Christmas Eve column in the Daily Messenger.

"Drunk driving is not only dangerous to the driver, but to vehicle passengers, bystanders and other drivers," wrote Kolb, who noted that rideshare services, taxis, and the state's "robust" public transportation systems all offered inebriated motorists a safe alternative means of getting home.

"Please consider the ramifications of impaired driving, especially as we prepare to close out 2019 and welcome in a new decade," he urged.

No one else was reportedly injured in Tuesday's accident.

At least one fellow Republican legislator has called on Kolb to step down from his post as minority leader.  Kolb has not said whether he will resign his leadership position yet.

.@GOPLdrBrianKolb should step down as Assembly Minority Leader .That he hasn't done so already is a disgrace. https://t.co/uXMZhxEqtC

— Kieran Michael Lalor, Esq (@KieranLalor) January 1, 2020

Kolb is hardly the first government official to be caught drunk driving. California Assemblyman Ben Hueso (D–San Diego) was arrested for driving under the influence in 2014, hours after voting for a bill that piled more regulations on ridesharing services. In 2018 a Michigan sheriff tried (unsuccessfully) to get out of a drunk driving charge by informing the policemen who'd stopped him that he was "a constitutional fucking officer."

Comments

[loveconstitution1789]

reason decided to really focus on local news in 2020!

[damikesc]

While it is bad...would Reason be happier if came out PRO drunk driving?

Somebody with a problem can recognize that their problem is not one everybody should have and, in fact, all should avoid.

[A Thinking Mind]

I saw the headline and I expected a story about how he got pulled over and blew a .05 or something (enough to qualify as 'impaired driving' in New York and some other states).

But yeah, he crashed his car in a ditch in front of his house. You'd think if you'd just talked about drunk driving the week before you'd have a smidgeon of self-awareness.

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

All I know is that if you yell, "its coming right for us" before running into the ditch; it's the ditch's fault.

[Utility Maximizer]

It worked on South Park...

[some guy]

He's fully aware. He just thought the laws applied to everyone else.

[TripK2]

To be fair, that's how it works most of the time. He just didn't realize he's too much of a nobody to be elevated above the law like Hillary Clinton.

[MP]

I'd think that Reason should be exercising a bit more editorial discretion here. One could quite easily have a whole blog dedicated to hypocrisy reporting. I'd think that the stuff that finds its way here should at least related to policies/laws that have a particular interest to the audience.

DWI hypocrisy? zzzzzzzzzz

[Fats of Fury]

"Drunk driving is not only dangerous to the driver, but to vehicle passengers, bystanders and other drivers,"

What hypocrisy? What he said is true and he proved it. The bigger scandal is a state-issued 2018 GMC Acadia and who pays the damages.

[Don't look at me!]

We need to follow the behavior of our “betters”.

[TripK2]

Really, he crashed it in a ditch in front of his house? Some people are just really bad at drunk driving.

[CDRSchafer]

And at leaving the car in the ditch while sleeping it off inside.

[Fats of Fury]

According to Obama, that's what Republicans do.

[Dillinger]

>>>the top Republican in the New York Assembly

if Brian didn't know he'd be a target he's not much of a politician anyway

[Earth Skeptic]

Clearly a conspiracy. Where are his Russian drinking buddies?

[Dillinger]

they know to olive oil it up before drinking.

[Utility Maximizer]

[quote]In 2018 a Michigan sheriff tried (unsuccessfully) to get out of a drunk driving charge by informing the policemen who'd stopped him that he was "a constitutional fucking officer."[/quote]

The "constitutional fucking officer" defense only applies when you're accused of having sex with someone in custody, I guess.

[Rich]

Kolb has not said whether he will resign his leadership position yet.

Because he's considering resigning *entirely* from the Assembly, right? RIGHT?!

[Fist of Etiquette]

The real problem here is he wasn't sober enough to think to walk into his house and have a scotch while waiting for police to show up.

[mtrueman]

"Kolb had crashed his state-issued 2018 GMC Acadia in a ditch in front of his house."

It's stuff like this that gives drunk driving a bad name.

[Jerry B.]

Gee. Does New York issue all it's legislators state-owned SUVs? Nice perk.

[Johninsd]

What is "constitutional fucking"? Does it differ from "unconstitutional fucking"? What does such work pay these days? Or is it a volunteer position?

[MasterThief]

He should resign and the party should force him out. The R's will probably do that, but the D's don't