Democratic state Rep. Timm Ormsby of Spokane, the chief budget writer in the Washington House of Representatives, has pleaded guilty to reckless driving. Ormsby was facing a possible drunk driving conviction after he rolled his jeep in February.
Ormsby’s accident and arrest happened one evening as he was returning home from meeting a lobbyist at a bar near Olympia. At the time, Ormsby said he had “at least two beers” at the bar and had consumed two more beers earlier in the day.
He failed a field sobriety test and registered a 0.11 on a portable breath test. In Washington, 0.08 constitutes driving under the influence.
Since this was his first DUI arrest, Ormsby was allowed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of reckless driving. He paid a $1,100 fine and has been ordered to meet with victims of drunk driving.
In an interview, Ormsby said he "wanted to own responsibility for my mistake.” He also said he’s stopped drinking since the accident.
Ormbsy has filed to run for re-election this year.
His guilty plea was first reported by The Spokesman Review.