Well wouldn’t you know it. Less than one week after the Assembly actually passed a bill toughening state OWI laws, State Rep. Jeff Wood, I-Chippewa Falls, got himself arrested on suspicion of his fourth such charge.
Last Wednesday, Mr. Wood was pulled over by a state trooper after a witness’ tip that he was driving erratically. Although he insisted it was because he was checking a map, Mr. Wood failed a field sobriety test (though a Breathalyzer revealed he had not been drinking) and later admitted to taking two doses of nighttime cough syrup as well as twice his prescribed dosage of Lorazepam, an anti-anxiety medication. Since the events, Mr. Wood has checked himself into an inpatient program for drug and alcohol abuse.
For a state struggling to shed the image that it cares more about drinking than the safety of its citizens, allowing someone guilty of so many repeat offenses to remain in office betrays a gross lack of priorities.
State politicians have been noncommittal thus far. Despite calling for tougher OWI laws (including making the third offense a felony) last week, Gov. Jim Doyle has declined to call for Mr. Wood’s resignation. Instead, he has only said Mr. Wood or his constituents have a tough decision to make. Too bad his constituents won’t have a chance to make that decision for more than a year.
Even Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, who rarely shies away from controversial (or ill-conceived) statements, backed off his initial push to boot Mr. Wood from the Assembly Monday, saying he will wait until Mr. Wood is out of rehab to introduce a bill for his expulsion.
Mr. Wood’s condition certainly deserves a measure of compassion, but his actions do not. Driving under the influence is indefensible whether you are drunk, depressed or have a really bad cough. And while we hope he can come to terms with his demons, it is clear Mr. Wood must do so as a citizen, not as a representative of the people of Wisconsin.
His first action after his arrest should have been to resign, and for state leadership to decline to nudge him out of the door in favor of sensitivity demonstrates a lack of courage and distorts the greater issue.
Mr. Wood’s personal life is not the problem here. His reckless and negligent behavior on Wisconsin’s roads is. While we wish him a full and speedy recovery, it is clear someone who has repeatedly proven himself incapable of respecting public safety on the highway cannot be trusted to protect it at the Capitol.
