ATLANTA — A longtime member of the Atlanta City Council said she is not quitting after being charged for driving under the influence.
Councilman Cleta Winslow told WSB-TV in an interview Saturday she intends to remain in the post despite her arrest.
“Well, I want to say I am going to be running for re-election. I’m going to continue to work hard for the citizens,” Winslow said during a ground-breaking event.
Winslow, who has been on the council since 1993, is free on bond after she was released from jail Wednesday. Atlanta police, who stopped her Tuesday night, said she was driving on the wrong side of the road and ran a red light.
A lawyer for Winslow denied the council member was drunk when police stopped her.
“She admitted she was drinking and driving. That is not against the law in Georgia. It is only against the law if you are an impaired driver; we are asserting she was not an impaired driver,” said attorney Jackie Patterson.
Winslow said she was thankful for the support she has received since her arrest.
“This has not been an easy week for me,” she said. “It’s been a difficult week, but many people have called me and extended their prayers out to me, and they are holding me on high and I’m very appreciative of that.”
Winslow plans to appeal an administrative suspension that was placed on her license because she refused to take a sobriety test, Patterson said previously. State law allows for a driver’s license to be suspended for a year if the driver doesn’t submit to a sobriety test.
The councilwoman is scheduled to appear in court June 11. In addition to the DUI, other charges Winslow faces include driving on the wrong side of the road, failure to stop for a stop sign and a red light violation.
