San Carlos Vice Mayor Andy Klein was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, two days after the city's mayor died of a heart attack, authorities said today.
Klein, 29, told officers he was on his way home from a burial service for Mayor Omar Ahmad when he pulled his 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer over to the shoulder of northbound Interstate 280 to take a cell phone call at about 1:10 a.m. Thursday.
A San Mateo County sheriff's deputy saw the car at the off-ramp to Edgewood Drive near Redwood City. Thinking Klein had car trouble or otherwise needed help, the deputy approached him, said sheriff's Lt. Ray Lunny.
The vice mayor smelled of alcohol and appeared to be drunk, authorities said. The deputy called for California Highway Patrol officers to respond because they have jurisdiction for such matters on freeways.
Klein said his blood-alcohol level had been measured in a breathalyzer test at 0.08 percent, the level at which a driver is considered drunk.
He was taken to the county's First Chance drop-off center in San Carlos to sober up and was cited and released, said CHP Officer Art Montiel.
Klein said he also had been administered a blood test, but the results are not yet available.
Klein was elected to the City Council in 2009.
In a statement, he said, "I am deeply saddened by the embarrassment that this may cause my family, friends and the city of San Carlos. I understand as a political figure that we must hold ourselves to a higher standard, and if I failed to live up to that standard I am truly sorry."
However, the vice mayor said he did not believe his ability to drive had been impaired at the time he was arrested.
Klein has a conviction in Montana for reckless driving without causing injury, records show. He also convictions in California for using a non-hands-free cell phone while driving and failing to appear in 2009, as well as failing to have his driver's license in his possession and failing to obey a traffic control device earlier this year, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
His arrest came two days after Ahmad, 46, died of an apparent heart attack at his home. Klein told the CHP that he was returning home after attending a private burial for Ahmad in San Bruno on Wednesday night, Montiel said.
There will be a public memorial service for Ahmad at 3 p.m. today at the Hiller Aviation Museum, 601 Skyway Road in San Carlos.
The City Council will discuss whether to appoint an interim mayor May 23. Klein said he was interested in the job.
"I believe I am still fit to be mayor, but will do whatever my colleagues decide is best," he said.
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