Cheyenne Mayoral candidate Marian Orr is addressing a 2013 DUI arrest and conviction in Casper.

She has released the following statement on her campaign facebook page:

Dear Friends:

If you haven’t learned this about me yet, you will: I’m not afraid to admit when I make a mistake. I’ve spoken about this particular mistake many times before and during the campaign trail and I’m happy to address it again.

Three years ago, I felt I was OK to drive after consuming two glasses of wine in about an hour one evening after a business meeting.

Driving to my parent’s home (I was in Casper), I was distracted by my phone, grabbed for it, and — in a split second — I hit a parked car. When the officer arrived, I told him what I had to drink. And I was certain that I was under the limit. I was wrong. My BAC was just over. I was wrong to get behind the wheel and I was wrong to let myself get distracted. I pled guilty (because I was) and made no attempt to “get out of it”.

In fact, I think the Casper judges do it right. Unlike most courts, including Cheyenne’s - Casper judges do not allow for “deferrals” in first offenses. Casper judges are tough on DUIs and that is a good thing. I made a mistake. A big mistake. Thank God it wasn’t a fatal mistake for someone else or me.

I paid the fines, paid for damages, completed six months of random alcohol tests, and met in Casper with the judge once a month for 6 months (note: this is the minimum requirement in Casper for a first offense). I took responsibility and I learned from it. And boy did the news go viral. Everyone I worked with knew about it as did many, many people I didn’t know. I received emails, phone calls, texts — everything.

When I was thinking about running for mayor, a lot of people asked me how I would handle this. I told them I would just talk about it. A lot of people already knew about it and I figured people who didn’t know could learn from my mistake. So, I’ve talked about it a lot.

Now, more people want me to talk about it. So I am.

An account under the name of “Mary E. Smith” was created a couple months ago and it has been friending many of my friends. Last week, “Mary” shared my mugshot. In fact, Mary made it “her” cover photo.

Now, KGAB’s Gary Freeman posted the story on his timeline which is certainly fair. Trust me, you don’t want a story like this about you. This will follow me forever and that’s part of the punishment. I accept this.

I’ll also accept if this changes your opinion of me, or the the job I would do as mayor, or the seriousness that I believe drinking and driving is. And if it does, I respectfully understand. Thank you.

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