These local candidates have DWI convictions, background checks show

Four Triangle candidates for the state legislature have been convicted of driving while impaired since 2000.

Three say they had a lapse in judgment. One, Ray Ubinger, a Durham Libertarian, said his arrest was unjust. Ubinger has also faced charges of carrying a concealed gun and resisting a police officer.

The News & Observer checked North Carolina criminal records and some civil records of candidates for the state House and state Senate in Wake, Durham, Johnston, Orange, Chatham and Franklin counties. Other than these, no other major convictions show up in the candidates' records. None has outstanding federal tax liens.

These candidates will appear on November ballots. Early voting for the May 8 primary is ongoing, but these candidates do not face primaries.

Two of the four candidates are Libertarian, a party that has not had a candidate elected to the legislature. They are running in districts with a history of electing Democrats. The two Republicans are running in heavily Democratic districts where incumbents are seeking re-election.

Ubinger, who is running in Senate District 22, pleaded not guilty in 2001 to the weapon and resisting charges. He argued at a jury trial that the judge and other court officials were not legitimately elected, because the state does not count all write-in votes, and that the roadblock where he was stopped was unconstitutional. He was found guilty of both charges.

If elected, Ubinger said, he would work to end random checkpoints.

Ubinger, who ran for U.S. Senate in 1996 and in subsequent legislative and city council races, said he was riding a scooter when charged with a DWI in 2011. He refused to take a Breathalyzer test and says the magistrate handled the case improperly.

Ubinger, 52, said he is running a “low-key” campaign and is not seeking endorsements.

“I’m loyal to the Libertarian Party,” he said. “I’m a voter interested in being able to vote for myself and fire a Dem-Republican and put in someone dedicated to civil rights.”

He'll be on the November ballot with incumbent Democratic Sen. Mike Woodard and Republican Rickey Padgett.

Sandy Andrews, a Raleigh Republican, said she was driving home from a Christmas party in 2005 when she picked up a DWI. She pleaded guilty in 2006. She said she supports strict enforcement of DWI laws.

"I made a mistake, and I believe that the laws on the books for DWI are very important to the safety of our citizens,” she said. “I’ve never had as much as a parking ticket since then. It was a wake-up call, and we need to make sure that when we operate motor vehicles that we are responsible and we don’t endanger other people on the roads, and I am in full support of our law enforcement (cracking) down on this.”

Andrews, 58 and a first-time candidate, is running in Senate District 14. She said she supports efforts to channel habitual drunken drivers into rehab programs.

Andrews is a media specialist in the marketing arm of McClatchy, which owns The News & Observer.

She is running against Sen. Dan Blue, the Senate minority leader, and Libertarian Ray Haygood.

Erik Raudsep, a Libertarian from Durham running in House District 31, pleaded guilty to DWI in 2015.

“That’s my mistake in life,” said Raudsep, 39. "I’ve had no legal troubles since. It was a moment of poor judgment.”

The first-time candidate said he can make a strong run at the seat, which is being left open by Democratic Rep. Mickey Michaux’s retirement.

“It’s a different political landscape than we’re used to,” he said.

He is running against Democrat Zack Hawkins and Republican Torian Webson.

Kenneth Rothrock, a Republican lawyer from Hillsborough running in House District 50, pleaded guilty to a DWI charge in 2010. Rothrock, 67, said the charge resulted from a visit from an old high school friend who brought apple brandy, something Rothrock never had before. Rothrock said he tried to drive home afterward to tend to a family emergency and the wheel of his vehicle got stuck in a hole. Someone called the police, he said.

“It was a terrible piece of bad judgment,” he said. “Just stupid.

“I pled to it. I paid the price. I was humiliated by it, as I should have been,” Rothrock said.

Rothrock ran for a state House seat in 2002 as a Democrat. He’s been a Republican since 2016. He faces Democratic Rep. Graig Meyer in November.

This story was originally published April 24, 2018 at 11:38 AM with the headline "These local candidates have DWI convictions, background checks show."