Taupō District Councillor Anna Park has today (Friday, February 28) admitted to driving with excess breath alcohol on Saturday, November 9 last year.
In a media statement Park said she deeply regretted her actions.
“My decision could have endangered others and, even though I was alone in the car, the risk I took was unacceptable.” (Full statement below).
Park, in court under the surname Pickering, made the plea in the Auckland District Court on Friday afternoon having been charged with driving on Wairakei Drive while the proportion of alcohol in her breath was 804 micrograms per litre (exceeding the allowable 400 mcg/alc/per litre of breath)
The charge sheet also stated that she had been convicted at least twice previously of drink driving offences.
Park was first elected to the Taupō District Council in 2010 and is one of the council’s longest serving representatives (having served 14 years, five months) and was the first sitting councillor to have a child while in office.
In the statement Park said she did not seek name suppression because she believed in being fully accountable and taking responsibility for her actions.
“I sought to protect my family from undue public attention by having the case heard out of town. This does not diminish my accountability in any way - this mistake was mine alone, and I did not want those closest to me to suffer because of it.
“I am deeply sorry for the disappointment and hurt my actions have caused to my family, friends, colleagues, and the wider community.
“I am committed to learning from this mistake and earning back the trust I have lost.”
Park has looked after the youth, sports and recreation portfolios as part of her duties.
Currently she is the lead of the International Relations portfolio and an associate for the Economic and Business portfolio.
She is the chairperson of the Emergency Management Committee and a member of the District Dog Control Committee, Risk and Assurance Committee, Taupō Reserves and Roading Committee and is on the Mangakino-Pouakani Representative Group and Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group (WCDEM).
Previously, she was an electorate agent to Taupō Member of Parliament Louise Upston at parliament from 2009-2011, working in parliament for a total of five years before her election as a district councillor.
More to come.
