NC Democratic Party leader apologizes after being charged with DWI in Chapel Hill
A top state Democratic Party official and 2022 N.C. House candidate was arrested last week after he was found asleep behind the wheel in Chapel Hill, according to police.
Matt Hughes, the second vice chair of the N.C. Democratic Party who also serves as Hillsborough’s mayor pro tem, was charged with driving while impaired, records showed.
Police reported finding Hughes, 32, asleep in his car in the roadway on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Weaver Dairy Road in northern Chapel Hill around 3:18 a.m. Dec. 29.
His eyes were glassy and his speech slurred, police reported. After performing “poorly” on roadside tests, Hughes was given a breath test. His blood-alcohol level was 0.14 — nearly twice the state’s legal limit of 0.08, they reported.
His driver’s license was seized until his court hearing on Jan. 12 in Orange County District Court, and he was released on a written promise to appear, records showed.
Hughes provided a statement to The News & Observer when contacted Friday about the charge. He noted that he has been dealing with personal issues recently, but that driving while impaired “was wrong and I’m not proud about it.”
“I made a decision to drive that I shouldn’t have,” Hughes said.
“Like a lot of people I turned to alcohol during the pandemic to cope with stress. And the events leading up to a loved one going into the ICU were certainly stressful, but that is no excuse to use alcohol and then to operate a motor vehicle,” he said. “By deciding to drive when I shouldn’t have, I have let down my family, my friends, and my community.
“I am sorry and extremely remorseful for the pain and disappointment I’ve caused and ask for forgiveness,” he said. “I have learned a valuable lesson and will repay my debt to the community.”
Hughes, who was appointed to the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners in 2018 and elected in 2019, recently attended the White House ceremony where President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act.
He is the former chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party and, last year, ran unsuccessfully for the N.C. House District 50 seat, covering Orange and Caswell counties. Orange County Commissioner Renee Price won the election in November, replacing former Rep. Graig Meyer, who now serves in the N.C. Senate.
His seat on the Hillsborough town board will be on the ballot in this year’s municipal election.
This story was originally published January 6, 2023 at 2:10 PM.
