Conyers lost driver's license after renewal check bounced

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) lost his driver’s license temporarily this summer because he bounced the check used to pay the renewal fee, according to an Associated Press report.

Conyers, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, attempted to renew the license Feb. 2 but months later was informed that he wrote a check for the renewal on an account with insufficient funds. The license was suspended June 30 until July 26 when Conyers paid the fee.

Conyers’s office issued a written response after the AP asked for an explanation.

“…A check was inadvertently written to renew the chairman’s driver’s license from an account that had been recently closed,” the office wrote. “As a result his driver’s license was suspended. Immediately upon learning of this, a replacement cashier’s check was provided, and his driver’s license was immediately reinstated.”

The Associated Press discovered the lapse after inquiring about the driving histories of all major-part candidates in Michigan. The secretary of state’s office produced records dating back to 2003.

In addition to Conyers, 11 out of 30 candidates for Congress had marks on their driving record that included 19 speeding tickets, four citations and three suspensions.

Gross Point Woods businessman John Hauler, a Republican running in the 13th District, was the only other candidate to have his license suspended, the AP found. It was twice suspended after Hauler failed to handle other citations quickly enough. One of the suspensions stemmed from an equipment violation in 2006 and another in September 2009 when he failed to renew his registration on time. The first suspension lasted just 10 days while the second occurred for only four days.

Two other Michigan candidates had more serious traffic violations on their records. Democrat Pat Miles, who is running in the 3rd District, and Republican John Kupiec in the 5th were ticketed multiple times and eventually received warning letters.

Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Mich.) was nabbed by Virginia police for wrongfully using a high-occupancy-vehicle lane and Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), who chairs the Ways and Means Committee, has two speeding tickets on his record. Four other Michigan candidates for Congress also have two speeding tickets each on their records: State Rep. Gary McDowell; Republican Tim Walberg, who is running for the seat he lost in 2008; Rep. Gary Peters and Democrat Natalie Mosher.