Port Coquitlam mayor pleads guilty to assault

Port Coquitlam MayorScott Younghas pleaded guiltytotwo charges of assault and one charge of breaching the conditions of an undertaking, all stemmingfrom an incident at the home of his former girlfriend last year.

The B.C. mayor had faced a total of seven charges, includingassault, criminal harassment and breaking and entering, following his arrest on April 4, 2007.

The Crown stayed the proceedings on the remaining four charges on Wednesday morning when Young appeared in Port Coquitlam provincial court.

Young left the court without making a statement to reporters outside. He will be sentenced at a later date.

The mayor made headlines last year when he spent Easter weekend in jailafter he broke into the garage of his ex-girlfriendColleen Preston and assaulted her and her friend Glen Shaw.

Healsobreached an undertaking he signed earlier that year promising to stay away from Preston. Younghad been arrested for allegedly harassing Preston in February 2007, but no charges were laid.

The mayorwas alsoordered notto drink alcohol and to attendalcohol abuse counselling.

Over the past year, the mayor has weathered pressure from the public and fellow members of council to resign.

Young temporarily stepped aside,but returned to the mayor's chair at a raucous public meeting on May 28, 2007,a month and a half after his arrest.

At the meeting, heapologized for elements of his personal life and cited a problem with alcohol, but told the crowd he had no intention of stepping down.

Young has been involved in municipal politics in Port Coquitlam since 1990, when he was elected as a school trustee. He was elected as a city councillor in 1996 and became the city's 14th mayor in 2001.