Jenkins has license revoked by DMV

Story by Eli Ruiz
MONTICELLO — December 31, 2013 — Village Mayor Gordon Jenkins will have to make due without a driver’s license for at least a year after the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) revoked his on Thursday.
The decision to strip Jenkins of his driving privilege was reached after a December 6 “administrative hearing,” stemming from his refusal to submit to a chemical test after his November 16 DWI arrest in the village.
Jenkins was additionally assessed a $500 civil penalty – to be paid before the eventual restoral of his driver’s license. Jenkins will not qualify for a conditional or restricted use license during the year-long revocation.
While reportedly in attendance at a neighbor’s party November 16, Jenkins received news of a two-car motor vehicle accident that had taken place on the village’s main thoroughfare, Broadway, and decided he might be of assistance at the accident scene.
“I went there to help out,” said Jenkins in a November 18 interview with the Democrat. “My sole intention was to help out. I’ve never seen two cars rolled over on one of our roads like that… I just wanted to help.”
Once on the scene, the mayor quickly attracted the attention of village fire officials, who told police officers that Jenkins seemed “out of sorts.” Village of Monticello Police Lt. Mark Johnstone would follow Jenkins from the scene, later pulling the mayor over for failure to keep right and unreasonable speed, leading to the additional DWI and failure to submit to a chemical test charges.
Jenkins would spend the next several hours in police custody, with video of the mayor’s detention famously posted to YouTube by Village Trustee Carmen Rue. Rue obtained the detention footage through a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request of the district attorney’s office.
Asked if the year-long revocation will have any effect on his business in the village, the mayor – who also acts as village manager – said, “I have absolutely no problem getting around. I live right here in the village so that’ll never be an issue for me. It won’t have any effect on my role as mayor/manager… it’s business as usual.”
Jenkins’ attorney, Michael Sussman, could not be reached for comment as this story went to press.