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Committee approves bartender Michelle Standarski's license renewal despite prior OWI convictions
Summary
The West Allis Public Safety Committee approved a Class C bartender license renewal for Michelle Standarski after hearing about two prior OWI convictions and a separate open-intoxicant incident; members cited her rehabilitation efforts and testimony from her manager and police on evidence standards.
The West Allis Public Safety Committee voted to approve the Class C bartender license renewal for Michelle Standarski after a hearing on her driving- and alcohol-related record.
Michelle Standarski acknowledged two prior OWI convictions, in 2012 and 2019, and a later citation for an open intoxicant in a vehicle. Standarski told the committee, “I made a really stupid mistake,” and said she has since taken steps she described as rehabilitation, including using a phone-based breathalyzer program called BackTrack and joining a gym to improve her health.
Committee members questioned whether the record showed a pattern of conduct that should bar renewal. The applicant’s manager at Shelby’s, who said they had supervised Standarski for about five years, testified the employee had shown sustained responsibility on the job and had not exhibited workplace drinking; the manager said they were impressed by Standarski’s “genuine remorse and the action that she’s taking.”
Police Chief Mitchell told the panel that portable phone-based breathalyzers and many portable breath-testing devices are not admissible in court because they are not calibrated to station standards, though he said they can provide a useful indication. “Even the portable PBTs that we have…they’re not admissible in court because they’re not as good as the machine in the station that’s calibrated,” he said.
One committee member noted the panel’s historical practice of denying a renewal when a third OWI is present, but another member pointed out the third OWI in this case was a pending charge and therefore not a conviction. That member moved to approve the renewal, saying Standarski had shown "signs of rehabilitation." The motion carried after a voice vote; the chair announced, “The ayes have it.”
The committee’s decision to approve the license was framed around public-safety concerns and evidence of the applicant’s efforts to avoid repeat conduct; members said they would rely on established standards for considering convictions versus pending charges.
No follow-up action or monitoring requirement was recorded on the record at the time of the vote.
