Middletown School Board Candidate Has Prior DWI Conviction

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A candidate for Middletown school board was convicted in 2005 for driving while impaired.

The candidate is James Cody, part of the Students, Parents, Taxpayers slate with Chris Aveta and Sara Weinstein.

In 2005, Cody was stopped by police in Red Bank and charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of liquor or drugs (39:4-50).

He pleaded guilty in court to driving while impaired (DWI). Cody had to pay $600 in fines and associated court costs, and his driver's license was suspended for 90 days, according to court records. He also had to take a 12-hour safe driving course.

When Patch asked Cody about his prior conviction, he said court records are accurate. He said he went out for dinner that evening, had two drinks and was on his way home. He said he was not driving when Red Bank Police stopped him; his car was stopped and he was having a conversation with someone.

Cody is one of seven candidates running for three seats on the Middletown school board. Patch searched the New Jersey municipal court database for all seven, and did not find criminal convictions for any in the state of New Jersey. The DWI charge Cody was convicted of in 2005 is a traffic violation.

Cody has been elected to the school board before. He was first elected to the Middletown school board in 2011. Meet New BOE Member James Cody (2011)

Cody was on the Middletown school board when it voted down a redistricting proposal in 2017; read what he said at that time: Middletown Board Of Ed. Kills Redistricting Idea (2017)

Meet James Cody, Running For Middletown School Board