Longtime Newsom adviser Nathan Ballard charged with felony domestic violence

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Longtime-Newsom-aide-Nathan-
Ballard-charged-with-15774264.php

Nathan Ballard, a high-profile Democratic strategist and adviser to Gov.
Gavin Newsom, was charged with two felony counts of domestic violence
after his wife alleged he pushed her into a glass door and attempted to
suffocate their 4-year-old daughter with a pillow, Napa County officials
said.

The alleged incident occurred on Oct. 17 during a family weekend getaway
at the Carneros Resort and Spa. Ballard’s wife, Mara, reported the episode
the next day. Nathan Ballard, 51, declined to make a statement to
investigators and was placed under arrest on Oct. 20, according to the
Napa County Sheriff’s Office.

He was released on $75,000 bail.

In a statement to The Chronicle, Nathan Ballard said he’s spent his career
in crisis communications “fighting on behalf the wrongfully accused, and
now for the first time I really know what it feels like to be in their
shoes. I will be exonerated. I love my children more than anything on
earth, and we will be reunited.”

Ballard’s attorney, Tony Brass, said the couple went on an overnight
vacation to Napa on Oct. 17 with their two young children.

“That night, after they both had too much to drink, they had an argument,”
Brass said in a statement Thursday. “Nate was the only one who emerged
with any injuries. I saw and documented those injuries firsthand.”

Brass said he’s confident his client “will be fully acquitted of these
charges after the District Attorney’s Office has a chance to review the
facts and learn all sides of the story.”

Napa County Assistant District Attorney Paul Gero said Ballard was charged
with one felony count of domestic violence involving his wife and one
felony count of child abuse involving their daughter.

Ballard’s next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 29 in Napa County
Superior Court, Gero said. He has not yet entered a plea.

Ballard has for years been a prominent public relations specialist, with
clients including the Golden State Warriors, the Democratic National
Committee and the California Democratic Party. He was Newsom’s
communications director when Newsom was mayor of San Francisco.

Mara Ballard, who was referred to by sheriff’s officials as the “adult
victim,” told investigators that the episode transpired after Nathan
Ballard had consumed a large amount of alcohol and marijuana.

She alleged that Nathan Ballard charged at her and pushed her with both
hands in her upper chest, and caused her to hit her head on the glass
door, according to Napa County sheriff spokesman Henry Wofford.

Nathan Ballard then stumbled and fell to the ground. The fall caused
Ballard to injure his nose and forehead, “causing him to bleed,” Wofford
said, quoting a deputy’s report. Ballard then grabbed a pillow and lay on
top of the pillow with the 4-year-old girl underneath, the report states.

“According to the victim, Ballard was either unaware of what he was doing
or knew he was trying to hurt the child victim,” Wofford said. “She went
onto say that Ballard seemed like he was trying to hurt and harm the child
victim.”

When the investigator asked the adult victim whether Ballard was
attempting to smother or suffocate the child, the victim said it was “a
combination,” Wofford said.

“Nate is a well-respected professional and a member of the bar with a
spotless ethical record. He has no criminal history,” Brass said. “In his
51 years, Nate has never been accused of, arrested for, nor charged with
any crime until Mara made these unsubstantiated allegations against him.”

Public records show Mara Ballard filed for a domestic violence restraining
order on Oct. 19, two days after the alleged incident. She filed for
divorce in Marin County on Oct. 23.

Brass added that his client “knows that he is not perfect, but he is
facing his own challenges head-on.”

“After nearly eight years of continuous sobriety, Nate resumed drinking in
April, after his father died,” Brass said. “He is now clean and sober
again, and he is currently in a residential recovery program to deal with
his drinking problem in a responsible, comprehensive manner.”

Mara Ballard’s attorney, Amanda Bevins, did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.

Megan Cassidy and Phil Matier are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers.
Email: megan....@sfchronicle.com, pma...@sfchronicle.com Twitter:
@meganrcassidy @philmatier



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