By Tom O'Neill
The Cincinnati Enquirer

CLEVES - Mayor Joe Whitton has resigned following a DUI stop last week and was replaced this week by Vice Mayor Linda Haas.

Whitton, 43, of Astonview Lane, was stopped shortly after midnight April 3 on Interstate 75 near the Ezzard Charles Drive exit in Cincinnati and was charged with speeding and driving under the influence.

He was clocked at 80 mph in a 55-mph zone. His driver's license was seized when he refused to submit to a blood-alcohol test, police said.

Wednesday he pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge in Hamilton County Municipal Court.

Whitton could not be reached for comment.

Haas was sworn in Wednesday night as new mayor. She has been a council member for nine years.

She said she's unsure if she will run when the term expires in December.

"He (Whitton) had a lot of good ideas for Cleves and he carried them out," Haas said. "He was a wonderful mayor, and we were really all sad that he resigned."

Whitton was running for his first political office when he challenged incumbent mayor Harold Duncan in November 1999. Whitton won with 63 percent of the vote.

Erica Solvig contributed to this report.

E-mail toneill@enquirer.com