SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A former state lawmaker who is running for a congressional seat has apologized for his behavior after he received a speeding ticket earlier this year, KSTU-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2v7i1nJ.)

The station says that Chris Herrod, who is running to represent Utah’s 3rd congressional district, was stopped on Feb. 9 for driving 79 in a 70 mph zone on Interstate 15.

In a police recording of the stop, Herrod tells the trooper: “I’m a former legislator that was honored. I’m happy to go on my credibility.”

The station says that during a court hearing in April about the speeding ticket, Herrod questioned the trooper’s discretion of issuing a ticket at that rate of speed and began to dive into what he saw as a “policy issue.”

The station reports that the judge rejected Herrod’s arguments, found him guilty and fined him $125.

Herrod told KSTU for its story published Saturday that “I’m the first to admit that nobody likes to get a ticket. I could have handled it much different.”