Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) can once again participate in City Council committee work, after months of purgatory following a December arrest.
Whyte was pulled over on suspicion of driving while intoxicated on Dec. 29 and spent the night in jail. A blood test administered hours the arrest found he had 0.089 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters in his blood, beyond the 0.08 legal limit of alcohol in the blood to operate a motor vehicle, according to KSAT.
“I removed Councilmember Whyte from Committee work to demonstrate that we take drinking and driving seriously,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement Monday.
While Whyte’s case is still “working its way through the courts,” Nirenberg added, “I appreciate that he has since been transparent and committed to reconciling his behavior with what we should expect from a member of the Council going forward.”
Whyte has been restored to his places on the council’s Public Safety, Audit and Economic and Workforce Development committees.
As the lone conservative on the council, some of his political allies had been anxious for his assignments to be reinstated, particularly after body camera footage from the night showed Whyte cooperating with law enforcement.
