RIVERBANK, Calif. (AP) — A Riverbank city official has avoided being forced out of office by pleading guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge, instead of a felony charge.

The Modesto Bee reports that 22-year-old Jesse James White pleaded guilty Friday to possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.

After police said they found marijuana and cocaine in his home and marijuana in his vehicle, White was initially charged with felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor drug counts.

Officials say if White had been convicted of a felony, he would have been forced to give up his position on the Riverbank City Council.

White is still facing a lawsuit on a separate issue that could still remove him from office. A civil suit claims that he failed to register to vote before he ran for the council seat.

Riverbank is a city of about 22,000, about 32 miles south of Stockton.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)