The Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Massachusetts announced the suspension of his campaign on Sunday hours after he was arrested in a suspected drunk-driving crash.
Shawn Oliver, a city councilor in New Bedford and a corrections officer, said in a post on X he was ending his campaign because “the election is too important to be overshadowed by personal matters”.
The move came after Mike Minogue, his running mate and a Republican gubernatorial candidate, said he asked Oliver to immediately suspend his campaign and that “when elected, I will formally ask for his resignation”.
“I am extremely disappointed,” Minogue said on X. “There is no excuse for driving under the influence.”
Police said Oliver, ۴۲, was arrested after he was involved in a car crash late Saturday involving a vehicle that struck multiple parked vehicles before turning over.
He was taken to the hospital for injuries and arrested on suspicion of operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and speeding, said Holly Huntoon, a police spokesperson, in an email.
The arrest was first reported by The New Bedford Light.
Jon Mitchell, New Bedford’s Democratic mayor, said the allegations against Oliver were “deeply concerning” and that the public deserves to hear from him about what happened.
A phone message seeking comment was left for Oliver, who was born and raised in New Bedford, a city of ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ people about ۶۰ miles (۹۷km) south of Boston. He was elected to the city council in ۲۰۲۳.
Minogue, a businessman and military veteran, faces incumbent Democratic governor Maura Healey on the ۳ November ballot. The Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor is incumbent Kim Driscoll.
“Shawn is lucky to be alive and lucky that no one innocent was hurt,” said Minogue’s X post after Oliver’s arrest.
The lieutenant governor’s position in Massachusetts is seen as largely ceremonial. But the officeholder is first in line to become governor if the governor resigns or dies.
Oliver has been placed on restricted work duty at his job at the Massachusetts Treatment Center “while all facts and circumstances are reviewed”, said an email from Lindsay Corcoran, a state department of correction spokesperson. The medium-security facility houses sex offenders and people civilly committed as sexually dangerous persons.
