TOPSHAM, Maine — Police charged a candidate for the Topsham Board of Selectman Friday with operating under the influence.
Topsham police Sgt. Mark Gilliam issued a summons at 6:04 p.m. Friday to Jean A. Wolkens, 43, of 515 Meadow Road in Topsham alleging she was operating under the influence prior to a traffic accident Dec. 16.
Police documents show Wolkens was issued a test that later revealed her blood-alcohol level was 0.22 — nearly three times the legal limit.
Lt. Fred Dunn said that at 6:46 p.m. Dec. 16, police responded to a report of a 2007 Ford Fusion on its side in a ditch off Meadow Road. He said Wolkens may have banged her head, so was taken to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick as a precaution but suffered no serious injuries.
Wolkens, who is one of three candidates running to serve less than a year in an open seat on the Board of Selectmen in a special election today, said she had considered dropping out of the race.
“But in talking to a couple of people that I’m close to, I was reminded that, fortunately and unfortunately, however you want to look at it, I’m not alone in this,” she said today.
“It doesn’t change the fact that I want to serve my town,” Wolkens said, “and I’m very sorry that there was a crash … I decided to stay in the race because I still want to serve the town, and unfortunately this happens to people of all walks of life, and I would never make excuses but I just hope people can look past it and realize what I have to offer the town.”
Wolkens — a Republican who ran in November to represent House District 60 in the state Legislature — confirmed that she had no injuries following the crash, which involved no other occupants or vehicles. She is in a three-way race to succeed Andrew Mason, a former Topsham selectman who defeated her Nov. 6 for the House District 60 seat.
Police issued her a March 12 court date.