Ventura Councilman Is Arrested by CHP

Veteran Ventura City Councilman James Monahan was arrested early Wednesday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, authorities said. Fellow council members said the pro-growth advocate’s arrest is not likely to affect his position on the council.

Monahan, 55, was driving south on the Ventura Freeway about 1:30 a.m. when California Highway Patrol officers stopped him south of Rose Avenue, a CHP spokesman said.

He was later released from the Ventura County Jail on his own recognizance and is scheduled to be arraigned in Ventura County Municipal Court Nov. 26, said Sgt. Robert Sparks of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Sparks said he could not release Monahan’s blood-alcohol level, but another councilman said Monahan had contended that it registered at 0.09%, slightly above the legal standard of 0.08%.

“He said he had problems with his steering mechanism and that his alcohol level was 0.09 instead of 0.08,” Councilman John McWherter said. “He claimed he only had a couple of drinks at dinner.”

Monahan, who had been attending a city-related function in Anaheim before his arrest, could not be reached Wednesday evening for comment.

Mayor Richard Francis said Monahan’s arrest would not affect the councilman’s position nor would he discuss it with the veteran councilman.

“I don’t think it has very much to do with the public policy of the city at all,” Francis said. “I’m not going to condone it, but I’m not going to condemn it, either.”

“Council members are people, and this is the kind of thing that happens to people. It’s an unfortunate personal circumstance. . . . It’s part of living in this world.”

In July, Francis removed Monahan from the city’s water committee, citing the councilman’s poor attendance record.

Among the pro-growth minority on the council, Monahan acknowledged at the time that he had missed many meetings but believed that his dismissal was politically motivated.

The 12-year veteran of the council has sided with business and development groups in opposing the city’s stringent water-rationing policies and has advocated importing water from the northern part of the state.

A native of Ventura, Monahan was first elected to the council in 1977. He was reelected in 1981, 1985 and 1989 and has served as both mayor and deputy mayor.