By Cliff Dunn
HOLLYWOOD — On April 8—Easter Sunday— Hollywood City Manager Doug Hewett was charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and arrested, after leaving the gay adult entertainment club Swinging Richards, in North Miami. The DUI arrest, which police records indicate took place at 3:20 a.m. on Easter Sunday, occurred one day short of Hewett’s six-week anniversary on the job as chief administrator of Florida’s 12th largest city.
Investigators say that Hewett submitted to two separate breathalyzers, which reported his blood-alcohol content levels at 0.145 and 0.139, respectively. State officials say that under Florida law, DUI is one offense, proved by impairment of normal faculties or unlawful blood alcohol or breath alcohol level of .08 or above.
According to police records, Hewett, 41, was pulled over by a Miami-Dade County police officer pulled near the corner of Biscayne Boulevard (US 1) and Northeast 156th Street. The officer reported observing Hewett enter the left-turn lane, before driving erratically back into the southbound lanes of traffic on Biscayne Boulevard.
The report noted his “red bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, and the strong smell of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath,” and indicated that Hewett— who had previously served as Assistant City Manager of Fayetteville, North Carolina—failed to “perform to standards” in his field sobriety test. According to investigators, Hewett admitted to having come from Swinging Richards, where he said he drank two beers.
“I can confirm I was stopped by a Miami-Dade police officer in April on suspicion of driving under the influence,” Hewett said in a prepared statement. He was not at work on April 9—the day after his arrest, and his six week anniversary as city manager—having taken a “personal day,” according to officials. “At the time of the incident,” Hewett’s statement reads, “I advised each member of the City Commission who expressed their concerns about this serious matter.”
Hewett said that he had “retained an attorney,” and that “On his advice, I’m unable to discuss the facts of this case at this point. However, I deeply regret how this may negatively reflect on the city of Hollywood. I look forward to resolving this matter and continuing to serve the city.”
“I’m very disappointed,” said Hollywood Vice Mayor Linda Sherwood. “It was a large lack of judgment in his going out and drinking to the excess that apparently he did.”
Hewett earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at North Carolina State University, and had been employed in municipal government since 1996. He was employed in Fayetteville in 2004, and worked as assistant city manager until his hiring by Hollywood City Commissioners, who selected Hewett over five other candidates for the $172,000 a year job after a two-day round of interviews in January.
At the time of his hiring, Hollywood Mayor Peter Bober said “We have seen many slick people come to talk to us over the years. Doug Hewett spoke from the heart.” Now, Bober says that the DUI arrest will place greater scrutiny upon the embattled city manager. “His judgment has been seriously called into question,” the mayor told CBS-4 News. “Really, he has no track record here in the city of Hollywood, so we certainly have to watch him very carefully to see if this is not part of some bigger issue.”
Hewett’s Twitter account lists his handle as “NC_Pimpernel,” a reference to his Tar Heel State origins, as well as the literary character the Scarlet Pimpernel, who, like the Lone Ranger, wore a mask to hide his true identity. The social media site description reads “Uncivil civil servant. You’ve been warned.”
Commissioners plan to discuss Hewett’s arrest and future with the city. The mayor told reporters that commissioners could in theory lower Hewett’s salary, or alter the terms of his employment contract.
