NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
A former elected official is talking for the first time since the scandal that forced him out of office.
John Arriola came under fire for reportedly taking money for wedding ceremonies he performed as Davidson County clerk.
He has been called a crook, arrogant and even a criminal. He said none of that is true but admits he made some mistakes while in office.
"Looking back, I can say I've gone through and survived," he said.
Under a cloud of criticism, and facing felony charges, Arriola said he saw the writing on the wall.
"There were a lot of different attacks coming from different circles of the media," he said.
And last month, Arriola stepped down as clerk.
"There was never that huge an outcry from the general public, but I could tell things were going to be changing," Arriola said. "It was going to be another tough year, and sometimes in a leadership position you have to make that difficult call so you no longer put stress on the office, the employees."
The scandal centered on how he handled weddings as clerk.
A state audit found he charged couples a mandatory $40 fee, despite a state law allowing him to only collect a gratuity.
"I never intended for us to stress that it was a mandatory fee," Arriola said.
Channel 4 asked, if it wasn't mandatory, why was it always a $40 fee?
"There was never any real number that we meant to set with those ceremony fees. We were very much open. I was open to that," Arriola said.
Arriola said, based on his interpretation of the law, collecting the cash was acceptable and insists he never turned away any couple who couldn't pay.
Once he learned there were serious questions about the marriage fee, he said he stopped taking it. Still, a state report found that over five years Arriola pocketed roughly $120,000 from couples.
"Did you ever stop and think, 'This is a lot of money, and perhaps I should be upfront about this gratuity, a completely voluntary tip?'" asked Channel 4 reporter Jonathan Martin.
"So, naturally, when you look back, you say, 'I wish I had done it differently.' But what's important is that you take it as a learning experience," Arriola said.
Arriola said he has done nothing legally wrong, but he said his big mistake was not understanding how his constituents might perceive his actions.
After six years as clerk, Arriola said he is just ready to move on and hopes people can look past the problems.
"Overall, if you have done 99 percent good work, but maybe 1 percent you've made an error, or you've made some mistakes, then hopefully they'll look at what the majority of the office has done and success and not weigh that down with what's happened over the last year," Arriola said.
Up until just a few days ago, Arriola was considering running for the clerk's job again in November. He filled out the paperwork, got the necessary signatures but ultimately decided he would not run.
Arriola said he isn't sure what he will do next, but he is looking at several opportunities in the private sector.
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