Jon Golnik's three opponents in the Sept. 14 Republican primary are giving the congressional hopeful a pass after news of his 2001 impaired driving arrest broke yesterday.
Golnik, of Carlisle, was arrested in Arlington nine years ago while driving home from an AC/DC concert. He was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The drug charge was later dropped.
"Everybody makes mistakes and that one happened a long time ago," said Tom Weaver, who will face off against Golnik, Sam Meas and Bob Shapiro in less than two weeks.
The winner of the 5th Congressional District primary will move on to the election Nov. 2 against incumbent Democrat Niki Tsongas of Lowell.
When asked if Golnik's arrest will hurt him come Sept. 14, Weaver, who lives in Westford, said it's up to the voters to decide.
"It's likely to hurt him a little, but it shouldn't," said Shapiro, of Andover. "In his case, his mistake is not reflective of whether he should be a member of Congress or not."
In an e-mailed statement, Meas, of Haverhill, said he would "pass" on commenting on Golnik's arrest.
"Instead I would prefer to talk about how we don't need reckless and irresponsible professional politicians in Washington," wrote Meas. "The 5th Congressional District needs someone who has the most experience, best resume and values along with the strongest policy positions on tougher immigration, creating jobs for the district, paying down the massive debt and winning both wars so we can bring the troops home safely."
This is not the first instance of bad press to come Golnik's way this election season.
Last month, Golnik said he regretted his recent eight-plus year voting hiatus, after he went from November 2000 to March 2009 without casting a ballot in any election.
"It's one of those things you're certainly not proud of and wish you could change," Golnik said in mid-August. "I fell into a trap and I got disillusioned. I got frustrated."
