Follow-Up: Newsom Appointment of Former Spokesman Nathan Ballard to State Historical Resources Commission Draws Criticism Over 2021 Domestic Violence Plea
SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom's November 6 appointment of his former spokesman Nathan Ballard to California's State Historical Resources Commission has drawn growing criticism in the following days, because Ballard pleaded no contest in 2021 to misdemeanor corporal injury on an intimate partner and child endangerment stemming from a December 2020 incident at a Napa resort.
Prosecutors said Ballard, during a drunken family trip to the Carneros Inn in Napa, pushed his then-wife's head into a glass door and held a pillow over his four-year-old daughter's head. Ballard pleaded no contest in July 2021 and received four years of probation. He has maintained his innocence, saying a no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt and that he accepted it to spare his daughter from testifying.
Victims' rights advocates condemned the appointment. Ivy Lee, head of the San Francisco Mayor's Office for Victims' Rights, asked why perpetrators of abuse are being elevated. Nadia Rahman, former president of the San Francisco Women's Political Committee, called the appointment egregious and said Ballard should not be appointed to a public body. Another committee leader, Chelsey Frank, said state commission seats are public honors and the selection sends the wrong message to survivors.
A spokesperson for Newsom said the governor believes abuse of any individual is unacceptable and that those who commit such conduct should face accountability, and that he also believes in second chances. Ballard said he was grateful for the appointment and acknowledged that it is a little controversial. The commission post does not require Senate confirmation, pays 100 dollars per day of service, and his term runs through June 2030. Newsom also appointed Michela Alioto-Pier, who wrote a letter supporting Ballard during his prosecution, to the California Citizens Compensation Commission a day earlier, which has also drawn scrutiny.
Ballard served as Newsom's communications director from 2007 to 2010, when Newsom was mayor of San Francisco. GSM reported the appointment itself in its November 6 roundup of the governor's appointments; this story follows the controversy that developed afterward.
(Source: New York Post)
Source: New York Post
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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