Eagan mayor pleads guilty to DWI, apologizes to community

Mike Maguire is serving his fourth term as the mayor of Eagan. (City of Eagan)

The mayor of Eagan is opening up about his drunken driving arrest in January.

Near the end of a virtual city council meeting on Tuesday night, Mayor Mike Maguire publicly apologized, saying he pleaded guilty to driving while impaired.

"I’m embarrassed," said Maguire. "Extremely grateful that no one was hurt as a result of my actions and very disappointed in myself. Not only did I disappoint myself, I disappointed my family, my 17-year-old, my colleagues, and many people in the community who rightfully expect more from me. For that, I am truly sorry and I apologize."

Maguire says he had been drinking while watching football before getting behind the wheel. According to the criminal complaint, the incident happened on Jan. 11, the same day the Minnesota Vikings lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs. The charges say Maguire crashed into a snowbank and a preliminary breath test showed his blood alcohol content was .19, which is more than twice the legal limit.

According to the City of Eagan's website, Maguire was elected in 2007 and is serving his fourth term as mayor. 

Full statement from May 5 meeting:

"This past January after an afternoon of watching football and drinking, I made an exceedingly poor decision to drive. As a result, I was arrested spent the night in jail and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

"I’m embarrassed. Extremely grateful that no one was hurt as a result of my actions and very disappointed in myself. Not only did I disappoint myself, I disappointed my family, my 17-year-old, my colleagues, and many people in the community who rightfully expect more from me. For that, I am truly sorry and I apologize. The months that followed have been challenging for me personally and for my family as well. It continues to be a humbling and difficult time of self-reflection, change and growth.

"Today after COVID-19 related delays, I took responsibility for my actions, pleading guilty for driving under the influence and accepting without objection the consequences of my mistake. Throughout this time, my family and I have been blessed by the grace and good will of this community. So many people reached out with kind words of support and encouragement: a phone call, an email, a text, people who took the time to write handwritten notes or a fist bump in the gym. Each and every one of these gestures meant more to me personally than you will ever know.

"I’m grateful the legal process has come to conclusion. I’ve learned some hard lessons and I look forward to starting to put this incident behind me. I want to apologize to the community and thank you for your patience and continued understanding as I move forward and try not to make the same mistake ever again."