Murrieta Mayor Alan Long was re-elected to the city council Tuesday, despite a suspected DUI crash and subsequent arrest that occurred just a few weeks ago.
Long, 44, won one of three open council seats with 5,339 votes. Rick Gibbs and Jonathan Ingram took the other two spots with 5,262 and 4,260 votes respectively.
Long announced his resignation on October 20. Several days prior, he was arrested after rear-ending a car full of Murrieta high school cheerleaders, all of whom sustained injuries. Long was apprehended after failing a field sobriety test, according to officers. He was later charged with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and causing bodily injury.
Though Long stepped down almost immediately after the crash, he did not withdraw from the city council race.
“I want to make it very clear that while I am resigning my position as mayor and as a member of the city council, I am not withdrawing from the current election,” Long said in an October 20 statement. “To the people of Murrieta, I believe that once all facts regarding the event have been revealed and the legal due process is complete that I will be exonerated.”
Long’s attorneys maintain that he was within the legal limits to drive on the night of the crash. Prosecutors, however, allege his blood alcohol level was 0.08—the legal limit—which "presumes a driver to be impaired."
Read more about Long’s re-election here.