A candidate for Perry Township Trustee in Bloomington pleaded guilty to drunken driving in October 2025 and is on probation for the offense through April 27.
Levi Combs was charged in April 2025 with two misdemeanors: driving while intoxicated endangering a person and driving a vehicle while having a blood-alcohol concentration of .15 or higher. He pleaded guilty to the first charge and got a suspended jail sentence with six months on probation.
Combs also was fired from a job with the city’s public works department in 2021 after allegations he was under the influence of alcohol while working and operating a city vehicle.
A city termination of employment notice dated Sept. 17, 2021, states that on the previous day, Combs showed signs of intoxication at work and that tests measured his blood-alcohol level at more than four times the state’s legal limit for intoxication. His job that day, the notice said, involved driving a city-owned work truck and directing traffic.
Combs was terminated for violating a clause in the city personnel code that says reporting for work under the influence of alcohol or unprescribed drugs is cause for immediate dismissal, according to the discharge notice.
The candidate biography Combs submitted to the H-T says he worked for the City of Bloomington 19 years, in the traffic division and then the public works department. He was for a time president of the AFSCME union that represents city laborers.
Combs said in an April 22 statement to the H-T he has addressed his alcohol issues and remains sober after completing inpatient treatment.
“I went to rehab at the Boca Recovery Center and did two 30-day stays, then did a 30-day stay at a recovery center in Los Angeles,” he said. “Recovery isn’t a fun path, but it’s something I’ve been invested in.”
Combs said he wants to use the knowledge he’s gained to help people struggling with addiction and mental health issues and enhance treatment options for Perry Township residents if elected.
Combs is one of two candidates in the Democratic primary seeking the party’s nomination for the office. He is challenging incumbent Leon Gordon, who was elected during a caucus in January to replace longtime Perry Township Trustee Dan Combs, Levi Combs’ father, after his death.
No Republicans have filed for the office.
Township trustees serve as chief executive officers of their jurisdiction and provide poor relief assistance for housing, utilities, food, clothing, medical needs and burial expenses. Trustees manage township funds and properties, ensure fire protection and emergency services and oversee cemeteries.
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Perry Township Trustee candidate on probation for drunken driving
Reporting by Laura Lane, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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