By Tom Peterson
John Andrew Grant IV
The Dalles, Ore., Oct. 27, 2026 — Wasco County commissioner candidate John Andrew Grant IV did not enter a diversion agreement Monday on a charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants stemming from a July 21 highway traffic stop. A circuit court judge kept the option open after finding deficiencies in the paperwork submitted by Grant’s attorney.
Grant appeared before Circuit Court Judge Marion Weatherford on Monday, Oct. 26, represented by attorney Travis Marston of Ashwood.
Marston, who ran for Wasco County District Attorney in 2024, appeared by video conference and told the judge that Grant had no prior criminal history. He also said he could not physically deliver the required paperwork to the courthouse before the end of the arraignment session, which began at 2:30 p.m.
Weatherford said there were “too many holes” in the documents needed for Grant to enter the diversion program.
By statute the District Attorneys office generally requires a DUII diversion petition to be filed within 30 days of a defendant’s first court appearance, unless the court allows a later filing. Grant was arraigned Aug. 17, making Monday’s hearing 70 days after his arraignment.
Weatherford agreed to keep Grant eligible for diversion despite the missing paperwork. The judge set Grant’s next court date for Dec. 7 at 10:30 a.m.
The judge also asked Grant whether he had been fingerprinted. Grant said he intended to complete the process at NORCOR jail in The Dalles at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Outside the courtroom, Grant was asked whether he planned to enter the diversion program.
“I am not going to say anything until the case is done,” he said, then asked whether a story about the hearing would be published before the election.
Oregon’s DUII diversion program lasts one year. Eligible defendants enter a diversion agreement and plead guilty or no contest to the DUII charge. If they successfully complete the program, the DUII charge is dismissed.
Requirements include attending a victim impact panel, completing a drug and alcohol evaluation, paying a $490 diversion fee, submitting to fingerprinting and complying with ignition interlock requirements. The device tests a driver’s breath for alcohol prior to the vehicle starting.
Grant has not been convicted of the charges, and the case remains pending.
District Attorney Kara Davis, who was prosecuting a murder trial and therefore unable to attend the hearing before Weatherford, said later in the day that she was disappointed in the judge’s decision to give Grant additional time to enter the diversion program. Davis said Grant had already been given twice the statutory 30-day period to enter diversion but had failed to do so. She argued that Weatherford’s decision gave Grant more time than would typically be afforded to the average citizen.
Grant is running for Wasco County commissioner Position 1, which is being vacated by Scott Hege. He faces former Wasco County Clerk Lisa Gambee in the Nov. 3 general election. Ballots have already been mailed to voters.
Last May, Grant advanced to the general election after finishing second in the primary with 2,331 votes, or 33.41% of the vote. Gambee led the four-candidate field with 2,883 votes, or 41.33%. Neither candidate received the majority needed to win the seat outright.
In July, Grant was written a citation for driving under the influence of alcohol. According to an Oregon State Police, Grant, then 38, of The Dalles, was stopped at about 10:55 p.m. July 21 on eastbound Interstate 84 near Mosier in Wasco County while driving a white 2014 Ford Transit van.
The Wasco County District Attorney’s Office charged Grant with two counts of driving under the influence of intoxicants, six counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of reckless driving.
The two DUII counts reflect separate legal theories for the same alleged offense. One alleges Grant drove while under the influence of intoxicants. The other alleges he had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher within two hours of driving and did not consume alcohol before the test.
All nine charges are Class A misdemeanors under Oregon law, according to the charging document filed July 23.
The charging document filed in Wasco County Circuit Court alleges that Grant endangered two adults and four minors who were in another vehicle.
