Former Nassau County commissioner ready to "move on" after DUI dismissed

She tells us she’s ready to open a new chapter in her life.

“It’s been an interesting year to say the least, it’s been a challenge, but it’s taught me a lot of valuable life lessons,” says former Nassau County Commissioner Stacy Johnson.

Johnson was charged with a DUI following an incident last June. A witness called 911 to report Johnson was weaving on the road. A dashcam video of a patrol car later caught a verbal exchange between a deputy and Johnson, although the camera was not pointed in their direction.

Johnson’s lawyer previously told us she admitted to texting while driving, not driving drunk, and once she realized texting was causing a distraction she put the phone down.

Speaking exclusively with WOKV, Johnson says she was confident in a jury trial but happy with the deal reached.

“I knew just by being quiet that eventually the truth would rise to the top,” she says.

Johnson has now pled “no contest” to a charge of reckless driving, adjudication withheld, and the DUI charge facing her was dismissed. She tells us she’s been offered deals since shortly after her arrest, however early offers were not acceptable. Johnson says the first plea deal she was offered was a plea to reckless driving if she agreed to resign her seat on the County Commission.

Johnson was determined to serve her full term, which she did. While preparing for trial, there was a change in leadership both at the Sheriff’s Office and State Attorney’s Office, and she says this deal she was offered made sense.

So as Johnson is now looking forward, there’s one thing she has almost certainly ruled out for her future.

“I’ve had several people approach me about coming back on and running for a different office of the same office, and that’s just not something that I’m interested in at this time,” she says.

She tells us she was fighting the arrest itself, which she still believes was wrongful and part of a greater political feud, but she’s putting that all behind her now.