By David Forbes

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported this morning that Asheville Council member Cecil Bothwell was charged with driving while impaired. Bothwell, driving a friend’s car, was pulled over last night by a state trooper with a blood alcohol level of .10.

Bothwell, in a brief phone interview, admitted “I made a stupid choice — I did not think I was impaired,” but was adamant that he won’t resign.

“I don’t see why it [the DWI charge] would affect my ability to continue to legislate,” he said. Asked if the charge will affect his role on Council, “I don’t think it should.”

“I’ll deal with the consequences, which I hear are expensive.”

Bothwell added that the state trooper and county jail employees he dealt with were professional and courteous.

The Council member, in office since 2009 and reelected last year, is an outspoken and sometimes controversial figure in local politics. Throughout his career he’s both sharply criticized conservatives and sometimes clashed with his colleagues on Council over issues like development.

As news of the charge broke this morning, local political watchers wondered if he would step down. The Asheville Politics Facebook discussion group, for example, is already full of arguments about the topic, and about plenty of Bothwell’s views and past actions. But for now, it looks like he’s staying put.

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