Good to see Dave was watching the local news this evening.

EDITOR NOTE–We all got the same new release from city hall.

As a Boise Taxpayer, this concerns me. Jade Riley and the rest of Team Dave should be held to a higher standard than the rest of the public. Do people not remember the problems we had with the Coles team? DUI is a preventable crime. There is no excuse for DUI. This really shows the lack of decision on the behalf of Jade Riley.

I find it difficult to develop any interest in various officials getting nailed for fairly common violations that have nothing to do with their jobs.

If he were a Momon bishop, for example, whose job included helping his flock avoid the temptations of alcohol and other forbidden fruits, it would be relative, therefore perhaps important.

But as a city-government honcho, it doesn’t seem to really relate.

If I ran a business, for example, I wouldn’t hire a known embezzler to be treasurer or bookkeeper, but I might hire him as a delivery driver or electrician or plumber or something.

And I probably wouldn’t hire a DUI suspect or convict to be a delivery driver, but the arrest or conviction wouldn’t necessarily preclude his being a treasurer, accountant, electrician ….Dig?

Besides, didn’t Butch get DUIed and then elected Gov.?

I can’t see that either the driving rap or his tight-jeans performance really affect his governorshipping for either good or bad.

I dunno just what Riley’s job entails, but I doubt it has much to do with promoting sorbriety or safe driving, does it?

EDITOR NOTE–First off, the mayor’s office put out the press release. He IS–depending on how you calculate–the #2 decider in the city. At one time he was called “chief of staff.” It is probably fair to conclude that folks have a right to know the decisions he made. Besides, the police pizza contest angle is downright cute.

Sounds like everyone did their jobs right. Why the snarky tone? Why does the cop get extra cheese? Etc.?

EDITOR NOTE–We had a post last month about Boise police participating in an internal contest to catch DUIs. Winners got free pizza. Ironic they catch the mayor’s guy, not snarky.
https://boiseguardian.com/2007/03/14/pinch_a_drunk_chomp_a_pizza.html

Dave: The Guardian and the entire Boise media is wrong for singling out and publicizing the DUI arrest of an individual just because he is employed by the City and in this case a member of the Mayor’s team (just look at your headline). The Mayor’s release was “necessitated” by the media’s actions. His response yes should be commended for indicating that he expects better from his staff.

There should be nothing difficult for the media here. Either publicize ALL DUI arrests and particularly convictions and penalties imposed (or more likely lack thereof) or NONE, but it is not appropriate to single out an individual to publicize just because of his public employment, unless the arrest was job related. Yes, this individual has decision making authority in our City, but the arrest in itself does not warrant public interest. Let’s see his response, e.g. attitude of remorse, acknowledgment of a mistake. Let’s not be hycocrites, we all have made mistakes. It is how we respond to our errors that determines the kind of people we are. An attitude of remorse and apology deserves our forgiveness and support i.e. go forward and sin no more. The alternative deserves removal from a position as a representative of our City in the same manner it warrants removal as a representative of any company or employer.

DUI is a serious offense and worthy of public announcement, but that should include everyone. Maybe then we would actually see a decrease in driving while impaired.

The cop perfoming his duties should be commended for simply doing his job. Looking the other way becuase of who the person is should never be a consideration and probably wasn’t. No additional reward of comendation needed. Nonetheless, the pizza angle was cute.

I suggest the media help support our police in their efforts and publicize ALL DUI’s. Maybe then our society will begin to treat this major offense with disgust and recognize the serious impact DUI imposes on victims. It must be very difficult as a police officer to see first hand regularly the impact driving under the influence can cause but have a society that accepts the behavior as commonplace.

The media covers major occurences such as a plane crash where multitudes are killed or injured at one time but give virtually no coverage to one of the largest killers in our country because it isn’t sensational, afterall it is only one or two at a time. A plane crash warrants major and expensive investigation and if error is found a rule or change to correct the cause, all with significant media coverage. If only the effects of DUI received the same.

Something to think about and maybe this particular instance of DUI can help bring about change.

The issue at hand is not so much the DUI charge, but the fact a prominent staffer in a position of trust has been charged. It would also seem LOGICAL a person in this position would make news if he or she had weeds growing on their land or failed to get a building permit for a petty fence project. Unfortunately, there is indeed a double standard for public personnas. Britney Spears makes news with a hair cut.

Thanks for reporting this and being careful with reputations. Although everyone makes mistakes, DUIs carry the potential of using a vehicle to do serious damage to the life and property of others. While I do not condone social drinking, neither do I condemn it, but I do condemn social drinkers who drive.

Any DUI is a bad offense whether an elected official or the average Joe. While high ranking in the city administration, Mr. Riley is not elected to his position. He should be held accountable accordingly. That doesnt mean it should be taken lightly, teachers often are held to a much higher standard(potential job loss).

My only concern with this situation is Mr. Riley has learned a very valued lesson without harm to any body else.

What happened to Mayor Bieter’s “0 tolerence” after City Attorney Elisa Massoth got a DUI 2 years ago and was asked to resign? Is the a policy change or favortism?

I tend to agree with Gordon on this one: The DUI and his job have little to do with each other, so it is not major news. The Statesman seems to have played it right with a short brief, however, both they and the Guardian leave out the key BAC information so we don’t really know how drunk he was, as Anne pointed out. (She’s also right that the .08 standard is so low that some who are not too drunk to drive would still fail the test.)
The most important question here is whether Riley tried to use his position in the mayor’s office to get special treatment from the cop that pulled him over. My guess is he is too smart for that, but the Guardian and the Statesman should be filing their public information requests for the officer’s belt tapes first thing this morning.
And to David Zarkin: Not only is Riley’s boss a Dem, Jade’s last job was director of the Idaho Democratic Party, and he used to work for the Clinton White House, so he is no Republican. But keep trying to be clever with your Mark Foley references if you must. Plenty of D’s and R’s with drinking problems to choose from.

What was I thinking oops, “0 tolerence” only means 0 tolerance for some City employees. Not the guy who runs your Office.

What we have here is a classic case of a guys behavior ( yes, he made a very dumb mistake) being used to question his job abilities. Then again, drinking and driving is a recipe for disaster and the BPD has publicized their ” drive” to nail DUI’s, so we also have a case of this guy showing a total lack of COMMON SENSE.

One wonders.. he’s in a position of great responsibility, well paid, and supervising Team Daves programs, which often show a total lack of concern for the citizens of Boise. Does a lack of common sense make for better or worse handling of civic responsibilities? We all make mistakes ( I’m probably one of the best at that pasttime) but we acknowledge and learn from those mistakes. I’d like to challenge Mr.Riley by suggesting to him that Boise does not want him sternly punished but when he gets back to the job why not show an increased drive for a de-tox center for all of those not as gifted as him with a plush job paying primo money who just want city halls cooperation in the basics. A de-tox center, a better bus system and laws that stop developers from turning Boise into a concrete jungle. Show us all how much you’ve learned Mr. Riley; why it would be like the platinum lining in the rain cloud!

Give it a break…

I am NOT a fan of Jade’s.

But what he did does not rise to the same level as a prosecutor.

He keeps his job and the detractors need to shut up.

President G.W.Bush, “One “DUI”.
Vice-President Chaney, “Two DUI,s”.
Idaho Governor Butch Otter, One DUI”.
Is the primary perquisite for an elected official the number of “DUI” or lack of “Military Service”?