Treasurer-elect pleads guilty to speeding, fined $43

After requesting a jury trial on charges of speeding and driving with a suspended license, and receiving a January court date, State Treasurer-elect Colleen Davis pleaded guilty Dec. 20 for speeding. She received a $43 fine.

Davis, who will be sworn in as treasurer Tuesday, Jan. 1, appeared in Sussex County Court of Common Pleas for speeding, driving with a suspended license and driving with no insurance or registration. She was facing up to $1,000 in fines and six months in jail for the suspended license charge – the most severe of the charges.

In addition to the $43 fine, all remaining charges were dropped, and she will have two points applied to her license. Her plea was for speeding 9 mph over the limit.

On Dec. 7, Davis had requested a jury trial on those charges, which was scheduled Wednesday, Jan. 30, in Sussex County Court of Common Pleas. 

She was ticketed for speeding a week after her Nov. 6 victory over Republican incumbent Ken Simpler. She was clocked going 72 mph in a 55 mph zone while driving a silver 2015 Honda Odyssey on Route 113 near Stockley Road, court documents show.

Davis, 38, gave the officer a suspended license and was not able to provide proof of insurance or vehicle registration, records state.

Davis could not be reached for comment, but on Nov. 17 she posted a Facebook message about her tickets.

“Earlier this month, I missed a court date for a speeding ticket I was contesting. This resulted in a temporary suspension of my license. I have paid my fine, and my license has since been reinstated. I made an honest mistake during a busy time leading up to Election Day. As working parents know, life can get hectic. It should not have happened. I'll do better going forward,” her Facebook page read.

On her webpage for state treasurer, Davis describes herself as a person of “high standards of excellence, I am highly organized and manage others to achieve the greatest return through hard work and determination.”

Davis has a previous citation for driving under a suspended license dating back to 1997, under her maiden name of Carroll. Records also show her license was surrendered in 2015, and she got a speeding ticket in 2016, two in 2017 and one in March 2018 before her latest ticket on Nov. 13. Records also show her license was suspended Nov. 9 for failure to answer a summons. The suspension was lifted Nov. 14, a day after her latest speeding and violations, records state.

Charles McLeod, spokesman for the Delaware Department of Transportation, would not say why Davis's license was suspended in November or in the past. He said Delaware code prevents the disclosure of personal information by the Division of Motor Vehicles.

The DMV lists several reasons why a driver's license is suspended, including too many driving record points, speeding and driving under the influence.

There are also DMV fines associated with reinstating a suspended license and insurance violations that could add an extra $200 to her fines, but Kanefsky said she had only the $43 fine. Court costs were not available at the time of the Cape Gazette's deadline.