Murrieta Mayor Alan Long Resigns

Murrieta Mayor Alan Long resigned Monday, four days after being arrested on suspicion of drunken driving following a crash that injured four teenage cheerleaders.

During an afternoon news briefing at Murrieta City Hall, Long announced that he is leaving office but will continue to seek re-election to a second four-year term.

“I believe once all facts regarding the event have been revealed and the legal due process is complete, I will be exonerated,” Long said. “However, I am well aware that being involved in such a high-profile accident in my position as mayor and as a member of the city council will be a distraction. Because I love and care for this city and community, I cannot in good conscience allow that to continue.”

“This will ensure there is not even a hint of impropriety, and that I will be treated in this matter just like anyone else,” he said.

Long, 44, was taken into custody Thursday night for alleged DUI resulting in bodily injury. He posted a $50,000 bond the next day and was released from the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.

Long has since publicly apologized for rear-ending a vehicle carrying four cheerleaders from Murrieta Valley High School. Two of the victims suffered major injuries in the crash, which occurred shortly after 8 p.m. at the intersection of Jefferson and Lily avenues, according to Murrieta police Lt. Ron Driscoll.

Previous: Attorney: Murrieta Mayor Concerned for Students’ Well-Being, Blood Alcohol Was ‘Well Below’ Legal Limit

According to Driscoll, Long was at the wheel of a full-sized pickup going south on Jefferson and slammed into the rear of the sedan. The lieutenant said the victims, ranging between 14 and 17 years old, were taken to hospitals for treatment.

Driscoll said the mayor, who was uninjured, “had signs and symptoms consistent with alcohol impairment.”

A field sobriety test was conducted, confirming that Long “was, in fact, impaired,” and he was booked without incident, according to Driscoll.

While acknowledging that continuing on as mayor and a member of the city council would “distract from the very important discussions we must all have on the future of our city,” Long said he saw “no reason why I should not seek re-election.”

The move reflects his unwavering belief in his innocence, he said. Election day is Nov. 4.

Long is a battalion chief for the Anaheim Fire Department. Anaheim police Lt. Bob Dunn, who handles public affairs for the department, told City News Service Friday that Long’s duty schedule had not changed and that his superiors would be “monitoring the investigation” to determine what, if any, disciplinary action to take.

Long found himself in the national spotlight over the summer, when busloads of undocumented asylum-seeking immigrants being transported to Murrieta from south Texas were turned away by activists.

Americans for Legal Immigration, a political action committee run by a Raleigh, N.C., resident, called for a nationwide show of opposition to the migrant transfers, dubbing the effort “National Days of Protest Against Amnesty and Illegal Immigration.”

Border enforcement advocates contended the migrant transfers were politically motivated, instigated by the Obama administration to intensify pressure on Congress to pass immigration reform measures that many opponents have blasted as backdoor amnesty.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, the transfers were necessary to relieve overcrowding of federal detention facilities in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, where between 40,000 and 60,000 undocumented immigrants, many of them children, have illegally entered the country this year, claiming refugee status.

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By City News Service