NEWS

Galena mayor resigns after threatening officer who was writing his mom a speeding ticket

Harrison Keegan
HKEEGAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM

The Bible tells us to honor our mothers, but the Galena mayor may have taken that principle a little too far this week.

When Mayor Dustin Bray's mother was pulled over for speeding Monday afternoon, a police report says he showed up on the scene and threatened the officer issuing the ticket.

Bray took some heat when word got around about the traffic stop and the police report saying that the mayor approached the patrol car "all bowed up and ready to fight." Amid that controversy, Bray resigned before Tuesday night's city council meeting.

"Under the circumstances, I think it was probably best for the city that he did," said John Arrington, Galena alderman. "I am going to hate to see him go. He was a good mayor, it was just one mistake."

According to the police report, Bray's mother, Cheri Bray, was pulled over by a Galena officer on Monday afternoon near the intersection of Highway 248 and Fourth Street in the small town 44 miles southwest of Springfield. She was driving 46 mph in a 30-mph zone and failed to show valid proof of insurance, the report says.

When the officer began writing the ticket, Bray pulled up and approached the vehicle, placing his hand against the top of the door of the patrol car so the officer could not exit the vehicle, the report says.

Bray then told the officer he did not want his mother to be issued a ticket before he "slightly cocked his stance like he was bracing to throw a punch," according to the report.

The officer then told Bray that he would let Cheri Bray off with a warning for speeding but he had to issue the ticket for failure to provide valid proof of insurance, the report says.

Bray told the officer he had fought for him to be employed by Galena and asked the officer if he liked his job, according to the report.

The officer said he would rather be fired for doing his job than keep his position by making exceptions, the report says, at which point Bray appeared less angry but still asked that his mother not be issued a ticket.

The report says that after the ticket was issued, Bray cursed at the officer and said his mother could not have been going that fast. When the officer informed Bray that he could check the radar's certification at city hall, the mayor drove off angrily, according to the report.

The officer said it was the second time Bray approached him on a traffic stop and asked him not to write a ticket.

When a News-Leader reporter contacted Bray, he said he did not have time to talk and hung up.

Arrington is now serving as the mayor pro tem, but he said the council is hoping to appoint someone to take over as mayor in the time before April's mayoral election.

Arrington said he has not considered running for mayor, but he believes there are several viable candidates in the community.

"The only thing that is difficult for the city is finding people who are willing to step up and do it," Arrington said. "I am sure that there are a lot of qualified people out there."

City clerk Lisa Chambers said Bray had been mayor for less than nine months after taking over for John Calkins who resigned earlier this year for health reasons.

Arrington said he does not think all of the recent turnover in the mayor position will have much of a negative impact on the community.