MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Council At-large member Stephanie Zader was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated early Sunday morning, according to the Mansfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
According to the patrol, a trooper stopped Zader, 35, at 1:40 a.m. after seeing her drive left of center while southbound on U.S. 42 near Sunset Boulevard in Mansfield.
After Zader pulled into a nearby parking lot, according to the trooper’s report, “signs of impairment were detected and an open container was observed in the center console cup holder.”
The trooper reported Zader performed standardized field sobriety tests and she was then arrested for allegedly operating a vehicle while impaired, a first-degree misdemeanor.
She was taken to the Mansfield Post and agreed to take a breath test. Troopers reported she had a blood-alcohol content of .131, above Ohio’s legal standard of 0.08.
Zader entered a not guilty plea on Wednesday in Mansfield Municipal Court, according to court records. A pre-trial date is scheduled Nov. 22 and a bench trial is set for Jan. 2, according to court records.
According to the citation, it’s the first time Zader has been cited for OVI. According to Mansfield Municipal Court records, it’s her first traffic violation since 2011.
Zader, a Realtor and real estate investor, is in the third year of her first four-year term on City Council. She was appointed by local Republican Party members in January 2021 to fill an unexpired term and then was retained by city voters during the general election in November of that same year.
She ran unsuccessfully in the GOP primary for mayor in May.
