Leader Staff
A Beaver Dam attorney who was one vote shy of becoming the Shawano-Menominee County district attorney in 2006 was arrested Monday on a felony charge of operating while intoxicated with a child in her vehicle.
Mary A. Harper, 50, made her initial appearance in Dodge County Circuit Court on Monday after being charged with driving her son to Beaver Dam Middle School while intoxicated.
She is charged with a felony count of third-offense operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, with a minor child in the vehicle. If found guilty she could face up to two years in prison and a $4,000 fine.
The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call around 5 p.m. Monday that a woman had driven into a field near the middle school. The woman was able to drive out of the field before dropping the child off at the school.
According to the sheriff’s department, a preliminary breath test showed Harper had a blood-alcohol level of 0.133.
She was released on a $1,000 signature bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Nov. 20.
Harper ran twice for district attorney in Shawano-Menominee counties — in 2006 and in 2008, before the term of the office was extended to four years.
In 2006, she lost to Greg Parker after a recount by just one vote, 1,890-1,889.
In 2008, Parker won 2,468-1,676 to clinch the Republican primary race.
Harper is also a former Menominee-Shawano County assistant district attorney.