Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes returned to city council Tuesday night for the first time since her July arrest for driving under the influence.
During the meeting, Cervates offered an apology and said she completed a three-week inpatient alcohol recovery program.
“I want to begin with apologizing to my constituents of Ward 2 and the greater community, who I may have disappointed by the event that took place on July 1st,” she said.
Cervantes told the council that "mistakes don't define us." But some residents at the meeting didn’t buy it, pointing out that this was Cervantes’ second DUI arrest since 2015. Her previous conviction was dismissed just 42 days before her latest arrest.
“We are all human, capable of mistakes. But something greater is to be said when you do not learn something from those mistakes,” one resident said. “And I just urge you to look inward and ask yourself, why didn’t I learn anything from the first time?”
A number of speakers have called for Cervantes to resign or face other consequences.
Cervantes announced in December that she’s running for the 58th Assembly District seat currently held by her sister, Sabrina Cervantes. When asked by the Press-Enterprise on Tuesday if she’s still running for the seat, her spokesperson didn’t respond.
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