Dowling to remove his name from November ballot
State Rep. Matthew Dowling will remove his name from the November ballot in light of drunk driving charges filed against him Thursday.
In a statement issued Friday, the 37-year-old Republican he would “retire” when his term expires on Nov. 30 to “better spend time focusing on family and my personal journey to wellness.”
The charges were filed after a June 4 crash in South Union Township in which Dowling, of Uniontown, allegedly rear-ended a truck twice. State police said his blood-alcohol level was .272%, more than three times the state’s legal limit for driving.
Under state law, he will be replaced on the ballot by a candidate selected by the county’s Republican Party.
That candidate will face Richard Ringer, the Democratic nominee for the 51st Legislative District.
After the crash, Dowling sought treatment for alcohol abuse. He previously said the struggle with lingering effects of an October crash – which happened after a diabetic emergency – “manifested itself in disappointing behavior that I have faced in the past with respect to alcohol.”
On Friday, he said, “Knowing the health consequences I could face in the future, it was easy for me to come to the realization that I had to stop drinking. It was harder to admit that my mind works differently from those who can drink socially and that I will have to be constantly vigilant.”