Decatur Commissioner Kecia Cunningham was arrested this month for driving under the influence.
Cunningham, who serves as the commission’s mayor pro tem, was arrested June 11.
“I accept responsibility and intend to accept the consequences. I anticipate this will be handled as any other matter, and I am embarrassed. It’s a personal matter that I’m embarrassed by,” she told Decaturish news website.
According to the police report, Cunningham was stopped shortly after midnight on June 11 after a Decatur police officer noticed her making an improper turn on East College Avenue near Sams Crossing. Cunningham also failed to maintain a lane and was driving erratically, according to the report.
Cunningham told the police officer she stopped at the Capital City Cigar Club in Sandy Springs after work before heading home and that she had a glass of wine, a vodka and cranberry cocktail and a cigar. She agreed to a breathalyzer test and her blood alcohol level was .147; in Georgia, one is considered drunk with a score of .08 or higher.
Cunningham made history in 1999 when she became the first openly gay African American elected to public office in Georgia and the Southeast when she was elected to the Decatur Commission. In 2013 she was named mayor pro tem of Decatur and was reappointed to the post in 2015.
During her time on the commission, Cunningham was a leading proponent of the city adopting a domestic partner benefits policy for its employees.
In 2013 she told Georgia Voice she is bisexual.
Cunningham is up for re-election this year.
