LYNNWOOD — In May 2001, Lynnwood police arrested a 38-year-old Lynnwood woman for altering a prescription for the narcotic drug Vicodin by doubling the number of pills.
The woman police arrested six years ago was Robin Dode, a 2007 candidate for Lynnwood City Council.
“This was the worst thing that ever happened to me and the best thing that ever happened to me,” said Dode, whose last name at the time was Rosa.
Dode was never convicted, but she agreed to a court diversion program in which she was regularly tested for drugs for six months, received counseling and did some community service work.
Altering a doctor’s drug prescription is a felony.
Dode approached The Enterprise, she said, because she wants to “be upfront” about all aspects of her past.
“This, of course, is part of who I am,” she said.
Dode, a senior vice president at Evergreen Bank in Lynnwood, sought appointment in 2005 to the seat vacated by Don Gough when he was elected mayor.
The council appointed Ed dos Remedios but Dode said rumors about her drug arrest were “out there” two years ago.
“It’s not really a secret that I’m in recovery,” she said.
Dode faces Stephanie Wright in the Nov. 6 general election. The two seek the Pos. 5 seat being vacated by dos Remedios, who is not seeking re-election.
In an e-mail, Wright said she didn’t know about Dode’s 2001 arrest.
“My thoughts go out to her and her family,” Wright wrote. “And I wish her the best in her ongoing recovery. I hope that this campaign is about the issues that are facing Lynnwood and how the different candidates will deal with them… I truly hope that Robin’s past situation will have little or no bearing on the race.”
In additon to her position at the bank, Dode has been active in the Edmonds School District since 1999.
She’s a former Meadowdale Elementary School Parent Club president and served on the district’s Public Education Foundation.
Nick Brossoit, Edmonds School District Superintendent, said he met Dode when she started volunteering.
He said Dode had disclosed her arrest to him earlier this year. He said though he does not condone her actions in 2001, he is supportive of her decision to come forward now.
“I guess I was amazed at how she had overcome personal challenges in her life and learned from it and has become a better person as a result,” he said.
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