As we first reported on Friday, Concord Vice Mayor Laura Hoffmeister was arrested May 25 by Clayton Police on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Hoffmeister released a statement Saturday, saying “On the evening of Wednesday, May 25, after having dinner and wine with friends, I was stopped by Clayton Police, and determined to be driving under the influence of alcohol. For this, I take full responsibility.
“I am extremely disappointed in myself and deeply sorry in my lack of judgment. I sincerely apologize to the residents of Concord and Clayton, my colleagues, my family, and friends. As an elected official, I know the public expects higher standards and I agree. I have already begun taking action; including seeking treatment and measures to ensure that this does not happen again. In time, I hope you can forgive me.”
Hoffmeister is a lifelong Concord resident who was first elected to the council in 1997. She has been the Mayor of Concord six different times.
RELATED STORY: Concord Vice-Mayor Laura Hoffmeister Arrested For DUI
RELATED LINK: View The County Booking Report For Her Arrest
May I suggest that the first step be, step down from your political position. You screwed up and there are consequences to those actions. You have accepted the charges, so you are saying you are guilty. As a public employee, you should be held to a higher standard .. one crime should equal no more public position.
However, she wont. People will still vote her in .. like Newscum and all the other corrupt politicians.
@ Parent
That’s adorable; you still think elected politicians should be held / hold themselves to a higher standard? Shoot, I think we’re lucky these days I’d they’re held to ANY standard.
WDG
She could have killed someone. She is supposed to keep us safe not run us down driving drunk. Can’t have drunks running the cities.
Basic boiler plate statement when any politician gets caught doing wrong.
No wonder she doesn’t want medical marijuana store fronts in Clayton, she’s a drunk.
/reply to Jay, Ha, ha ha ha ha ha. That was good.
You did not have dinner and drinks with friends, Laura. Friends do not let friends drive drunk. Maybe you were mistaken and had dinner and drinks with doners, kick-backers, people seeking new favors…. you know? There’s only one cure for that.
RETIRE!
Oh, and tell Edi “da ego” Birsan …. “Just don’t, OK? Just don’t!” Spare us all the embarrassment Edi.
Retire??? Recall her A__. It’s totally past time she retire, get the hell out, Hoffmeiter!
No Excuses
Really? Uhhhh I bet the friends were drinking as well
Taking responsibility for your action is fine , however had you killed an innocent family or a child or husband or a wife or a mother or a father consequences would have been a lot worse. You should have taken up classes to address your alcohol consumption long before you got caught and I’m quite sure that that’s the only reason that you are doing it now. DUI is SERIOUS..STEP DOWN..
Laura should resign her public positions. It’s extremely unlikely that this was the first lapse in judgement, it’s just the most recent time that she’s been caught.
You got that aclaycordian.
I hear this isn’t unusual behavior for her to drink and drive. She’s just sorry now because the Clayton PD arrested her.
Next time take Uber, Laura!
Agreed she needs to resign.
And also step up and maybe help out with assistance programs.
But first step up and publicly do the right thing
Her mug shot, oh dear. Not good.
I believe this is the appropriate response.
https://bit.ly/3wWXWzn
It isn’t her mugshot!
Can’t speak for anyone else here, but I refuse to vote for any Concord incumbent whether Demorcatic or Republican. I vote for politicians that get things done. Look at our third world roads. The highest gas tax in all 50 states and a budget surplus of $100B and still poor roads. Laura…please resign and enjoy your retirement.
I totally agree with you; the left lane of Treat about 1/2 block before you reach the left turning lane is especially bad in two spots.
And the street in front of my house hasn’t been repaved in more than a decade. I swear it used to be done about every five years.
I get nothing for almost 10k in property taxes; anyone think they get their money worth for all the various taxes we pay?
My reply below should have said Treat & Cowell. 🌞
@Chris…the state has a a law that the surplus cannot exceed a certain dollar amount called the Gann limit. The single party state, however, is trying to quietly repeal it because it needs more money for heath care for the poor and less fortunate. Anyway, the law states that the money needs to be refunded to the taxpayers . Imagine that, the state raises taxes over and over until they’ve gone too far and when they’ve collected to much…let’s not give it back…or better yet, let’s call it inflation relief…score some political points in places like SF/Oaktown/LA where people are too ignorant and won’t educate themselves. They are so entrenched in “give me give me” that they don’t care what it’s called just so long as they can buy that flat screen…we are screwed!
as a side note Laura…take your old wrinkly butt and disappear…retire and let go of the power…it’ll be alright.
in case anyone doesn’t know what the Gann limit is…
The Gann Limit applies to state spending as well as to spending by local governments. If the state exceeds its limit over a two-year period, the Legislature must spend the revenue over that limit in specific ways – providing half to taxpayers and the other half to K-12 schools and community colleges.
Chris, I totally agree. But the people of this state will keep electing the same old democrats the the same offices. I really don’t think there’s any help for these people.
I vote for people who think of the people they represent not would they can get from the office.
But this year NOT DEMOC-RATS ARE GET MY VOTES.
What lawyer would advise her to make a public announcement admitting her guilt? Most lawyers will tell you to keep your mouth shut.
I think she’s doing this to fool the judge into believing she will be getting treatment for her drinking problem. I don’t know if she ever had a DUI before, but a 3rd DUI within ten years is a felony.
Dawg
Any good reputable attorney will tell a DUI client to own up to it. The breathalyzer and station blood test put a person on the guilty fast track. She did the right thing and more need to apologize to others, be it the public or family and friends when they finally get caught
Just glad Clayton PD didn’t give her any special treatment like taking her home. Thank you to the officers that took her down.
She did have a rear taillight out a while back and she also had paper license plate on what looked to still be her old car last week??!! That probably drew attention to her and the more she talked her babble, the more the cops got suspicious. Course, she and Gary Napper have been no friend the police crew. I would think there were some high fives later that evening in the locker room.
Bottomline, she’s no asset to the City of Clayton. Just a big liability to the general fund. Basically going out her way to step in the way of progress and affordable homes and will go against city policy and muni code until she meets her match.
She hangs out at the front desk at city hall talking her water cooler bs and she gets away with it. What productive employee can hear her crap all day?
How the city manager can have Laura represent her is a mystery to me. Just to walk by Laura’s office each day would be a clue that Laura is not right and has big issues.
City hall personnel is like a revolving door and a lot has to do with her. Not too many could work with such a toxic person. She’s replaceable and until that happens, management and staff will continue to keep their eyes open for new opportunities to work in a healthy work environment.
Thanks Mayor for getting her mug shot.
Now that she had a DUI in her background, she has a great chance of becoming the Mayor of Antioch
“I’m sorry, this isn’t like me, this is the first time, and you can trust me.”
Typical boilerplate press release when a politician is caught doing anything, really. However, as a few people have pointed out, perhaps it is time for Concord voters to find new/fresh leadership. Good luck with that.
I agree with everyone here who urges Laura needs to resign from the Concord City Council.
Then she can seek the help she needs without the pressures of office.
She has medical insurance for life paid for by the City of Concord.
Laura, it’s time to go, without fan fare, just leave and seek the help you need.
You have made your Bed now lie in it.Get out of office a letter is not going to change what you did.
She didn’t even send a letter…just issued a “statement”, probably through her lawyer.
Ever since watching Jimmy Swaggart’s tearful confession, I realized that some people are good at fooling a lot of people. Further, they believe a hollow confession and apology is all that’s needed. And then they go on doing the same thing and making more money.
Have some self respect, self esteem, and resign.
@The Fearless Spectator…Not sure who was funnier, Swaggart or Jim Baker….maybe a tie.
You heard correctly. If law enforcement agencies, like Concord PD,
actually exercised law enforcement with Hoffbrau everytime she was
involved in a traffic stop, Laura would be sharing space in prolonged custody with other offenders. Instead, she is offered and gets a ride home at the expense of taxpayers.
I urge Concord City Manager and City Attorney to move with swift, concise disciplinary action without delay. Enough is enough.
Well I am no longer a democrat, I do say to forgive her. She is served long and most the time good.
What is interesting though is the Democrats always going to keep their positions no matter what they’ve done. It’s Republicans that everyone punishes and pushes out of office for anything. Totally a one-sided hypocritical slant in my opinion.
What’s with all the drinking politicians? And they are getting g caught. Do you think they will serve the same sentence as you and I would?
I dont expect much from the powers to be that are running Concord. The streets are littered with garbage, booze bottles, potholes, homeless, weeds
knee high and crime is rampant. Maybe, if she didn’t booze so much, she would be doing her job and clean up the city. What a disgrace.
The ONLY decent thing for Hoffmeister to do is step down graciously and contritely.
We shall see what she’s made of, soon.
As for Princess Nancy and her drunk driving husband, I expect nothing but the usual behavior from them. We already know what they’re made of.
Ah, the fake apology. Check.
Why hide the mug shot?
If it were you or me ….
Ask any police officer how many times does someone drive drunk before they get caught and charged with DUI. She is making major decisions while possibly being impaired. She needs to be removed from office.
From the Daily Beast….
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, responded through a spokesperson Sunday night to reports of his arrest in Napa County, California, over the holiday weekend for driving under the influence.
Instead of taking responsibility, the 82-year-old businessman and millionaire’s spokesperson Larry Kamer took aim at “incorrect information” in mysterious news reports.
“Several news reports about Saturday night’s traffic incident involving Paul Pelosi have included incorrect information,” Kamer said in a statement obtained by The Daily Beast.
The incident in question occurred Saturday night, after Pelosi left a “dinner party” and was involved in a crash with a Jeep that allegedly hit Pelosi’s flashy 2021 Porsche, according to Kamer. Pelosi was subsequently charged with two misdemeanors, including driving while having a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, per Napa County booking records.
Pelosi’s spokesperson failed to respond to The Daily Beast’s requests for comment on what “incorrect” reports he was referencing and why Pelosi hasn’t taken responsibility for driving while impaired.
“A prior driving offense erroneously attributed to Mr. Pelosi is untrue and likely refers to an unrelated person with the same name. This error must be corrected,” the lawyer said in the statement. “There are also incorrect reports that misstate the timing of events.”
Never trust a politician- or a politician’s spouse.