Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, seen in front of a Riverside mural Friday, June 24, 2022, said “strong support and encouragement from my constituents, community at large and residents” encouraged her to stay in the 58th Assembly District race after her second DUI arrest on July 1, 2023. (File photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Clarissa Cervantes smiles often in photos on her campaign’s Instagram account.
It’s a sunny contrast to the mugshot taken this summer after her second DUI arrest in less than 10 years.
The Democrat and Riverside city councilmember hopes her booking photo — and what it might represent to voters — doesn’t define her bid to succeed her sister, Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside.
In responses to emailed questions, Clarissa Cervantes said the “strong support and encouragement from my constituents, community at large and residents” motivated her to stay in the race for the 58th Assembly District.
“I continue to be an effective and devoted representative for Ward 2 … and a strong advocate for the communities that I am running to represent,” she added.
Cervantes added that nearly everyone “knows or has someone in their life that is impacted by alcoholism or substance abuse. I intend to be a voice and leader who can tackle this issue head on from personal experience.”
Cervantes’ arrest hasn’t stopped a wave of campaign endorsements from prominent Democrats and progressive groups.
In recent weeks, she’s announced endorsements from public employee unions and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund — Cervantes is LGBTQ — among others. And her backers include Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.
Cervantes, who has raised more than $244,000 for her campaign per state records, said “a small number of individuals” — she didn’t say who — withdrew their endorsements “while wishing me all the best in the race, and I respect that.”
Cervantes, 33, was arrested in the early morning hours of July 1 after being stopped on the 10 Freeway in Banning. She was going 101 mph when she was pulled over and admitted to having a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 — more than twice the legal limit — at the time of her arrest, according to court records and the California Highway Patrol.
It was Cervantes’ second DUI. When she was arrested July 1, she was 42 days removed from having her 2015 DUI conviction dismissed after telling a judge: “Each day I carry remorse and promise to never repeat those actions.”
Cervantes pleaded guilty Aug. 30 to misdemeanor driving under the influence and driving under the influence with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher and was sentenced to three years of informal probation and 57 days of work release, which allows her to avoid jail time by doing community service such as cleaning up trash along a highway.
Cervantes also had to pay a $1,948 fine, install an ignition interlock device — a car breathalyzer — in her vehicle and complete an impaired driver program. She announced July 7 that she would enter a three-week alcohol abuse treatment program and missed two Riverside City Council meetings after her arrest.
Cervantes, who has represented the Canyon Crest, Eastside and Sycamore Canyon neighborhoods and UC Riverside on the council since June 2021, launched her Assembly bid in December. Her sister is running for an Inland state Senate seat.
Besides Cervantes, Riverside Councilmember Ronaldo Fierro and Republican Leticia Castillo of Home Gardens have pulled papers to run in the 58th, which includes parts of Riverside, Corona and Eastvale along with all of Jurupa Valley and Grand Terrace.
Fierro, a Democrat, was not available for a phone interview. His aide, Caleb Ragan, texted a statement from Fierro which read: “The situation speaks for itself.” Neither Ragan nor Fierro elaborated.
Castillo could not be reached for comment. After Cervantes’ arrest, Castillo called on the councilmember to resign and drop out of the Assembly race.
As Cervantes tries to move beyond her legal troubles, her arrest became the subject of an ethics complaint and Republican attacks on her and other Democrats charged with DUI.
Riverside resident Ben Clymer, a past president of the conservative Lincoln Club of Riverside County, filed an ethics complaint against Cervantes in October alleging that her DUI violated the city’s ethics code, as did her failure to disclose income she received the past two years.
The Riverside ethics board on Nov. 2 found Cervantes’ DUI didn’t amount to an ethics breach. During the hearing, Cervantes said she took “significant steps” to address her alcoholism.
The board deferred acting on the second part of Clymer’s complaint because it’s the subject of an investigation by California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, which polices state-required disclosures of elected officials’ finances.
Clymer, who appealed the board’s decision, could not be reached.
Cervantes said she followed directions given to her in filing her disclosure forms. She said she learned “the advice was not accurate” when the complaint was filed and “took immediate action to respond and update” her forms.
The California Republican Party has mentioned Cervantes in calling out other Democrats, including state Sen. Dave Min of Orange County and Los Angeles County Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, who were arrested this year on suspicion of DUI.
“Each one of these Democrats put Californians’ lives at risk when they made the irresponsible decision to get behind the wheel and drive drunk,” reads a California GOP news release titled “CDP: California Drunkard Party.”
Cervantes dismissed the GOP’s attacks as “politics.”
“Some people will do or say anything to get elected,” Cervantes said, adding that she’ll “continue to be upfront with voters and will remain focused on the real issues at hand” like “creating quality jobs, tackling homelessness, and reining in the rising cost of living.”
Staff Writer Sarah Hofmann contributed to this report.
