GI Mayor Talks About Reckless Driving Charge, Listen to 911 Call

By: Megan Johnson - Email

Posted: Fri 5:04 PM, Mar 22, 2013

Grand Island Mayor Jay Vavricek spoke publicly about his reckless driving sentencing for the first time since he was arrested for drunk driving nearly three weeks ago.

"When you look at people in high profile positions such as myself, you also learn you're no different than anyone else, you can make the same personal pitfalls, same personal mistakes as anyone up and down main street or up and down my neighborhood," says Vavricek.

Vavricek's arrest and plea deal comes months after a city council censure and attempted recall.

Though his blood alcohol content was over the legal limit, he says he didn't get special treatment in the courtroom.

"The law applies to each one individually and each one equally, I understand that, but nonetheless I don't want to relive what I've relived here recently and I'll take this experience and move on in the future," says Vavricek.

City Council President Bob Niemann says it's been one unfortunate incident after another during the mayor's term.

He says several council members are thinking about taking matters into their own hands through City Code 2-24 -- rules that remove an elected official from office with a three-fourths majority vote.

"I got several calls from council members that they're looking at that," says Niemann. "How that will play out, how it will come out, I don't know."

Vavricek says resignation isn't something he's considering.

"I made a commitment to serve, I made a commitment to voters to do the very best job I could for the four years of the time they elected me," says Vavricek.

But Niemann says the ordeal has been bad for everyone and casts the city in a bad light.

"Basically I hope not because that's bad too, but we need to end this misery and if that's resignation, then it's resignation," says Niemann.

The mayor says he wants to move on by focusing on the city's accomplishments and what lies ahead.

"How we go forward, it's a foundation of the people, remembering those positive things we have in our community and knowing the positive things we want to achieve for the future," says Vavricek.

Niemann says he doesn't know how quickly the council might try to use the 2-24 rules, if that's what they decide to do. The next regular council meeting is this Tuesday, but Niemann says it's not a decision anyone wants to make rashly.

Update: Bus Driver Who Attacked Passenger Pleads Not Guilty