Less than a week before he goes before the voters, a Cottage Grove City Council member accused last summer of driving 110 miles per hour was granted a delay Thursday for his arraignment because he said he hadn't been told when to go to court.

Derrick Lehrke, who is seeking a second term in a contested race in Tuesday's election, sent a message to Washington County court administrators late Wednesday night saying he was "confused" about his court date.

"A couple weeks ago I talked to our Public Safety Director, and he said I would be notified when a date was set," Lehrke wrote. "He was confused as I was."

Court officials agreed to move to Dec. 11 the first appearance for Lehrke, who was supposed to be in court at 1 p.m. Thursday on charges of careless driving and two counts of speeding.

Craig Woolery, the public safety director who oversees the Cottage Grove Police and Fire departments, said Thursday that it's Lehrke's responsibility to know his court dates.

"I don't typically call our defendants with court dates," Woolery said. "He has a process to follow with his court affairs."

The court record shows a summons for a court appearance was mailed to Lehrke Sept. 9 but returned Sept. 19 with a "no such street" stamp.

Lehrke, in his message to the court, said he lives in a small section of Cottage Grove that receives mail through the Hastings post office. The summons had been sent in care of Cottage Grove rather than Hastings.

Lehrke was stopped early July 30 by Cottage Grove police officer David Liermann on Hwy. 61, according to the complaint.

Careless driving is a misdemeanor. The first count of speeding, a petty misdemeanor, involves probable danger to people or property. The second count, a misdemeanor, involves traveling faster than the posted limit.

Lehrke has several driving-related convictions on his record.

Kevin Giles • 651-925-5037