Candidate Presses Bid for City Council Despite DUI Arrest

Businessman Kerry N. Doi said he won’t let an arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol stop his campaign for the Gardena City Council.

Doi said Tuesday that he is developing a comprehensive community development program to improve the city in several areas, from economic and business development to improving job training and curbing crime. The City Council elections are March 4.

But first he will have to appear in Torrance Municipal Court on Sept. 25 to be arraigned on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The City Council candidate said he had four drinks in two hours while with friends at a pub. He also admitted he has a previous conviction of reckless driving for making an illegal left-hand turn while coming out of a parking lot in 1994. But he said he hopes his driving record will not sway voters.

Doi was arrested at 11:31 p.m. on Aug. 26 when he reportedly failed to halt at a stop sign at St. Andrews Place and 152nd Street, said Gardena police Lt. Ron Panter. Officer Carl Freeman said in a report that he smelled alcohol on Doi’s breath and asked him to undergo several field tests, such as walking a straight line and standing with his eyes closed.

Doi was taken to the police station where two Breathalyzer tests showed that his blood alcohol level was .09% and .11%, Panter said. The legal limit in California is .08%

Doi, who has lived in Gardena for 32 years, spent the night in the jail and was released the following morning.

This is the first bid Doi has made for a City Council seat. Council members Paul Tsukahara and James Cragin are up for reelection.

Doi is executive director of the Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment in Los Angeles, an organization he helped start nearly 20 years ago, he said.

A native of Hawaii, Doi has received the backing of several influential Japanese American citizens in Los Angeles, including Warren Furutani, a former board member of the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Mas Fukai, a Gardena City Council member.