Gavin Newsom appoints ex-aide convicted of domestic violence, child endangerment

Gov. Gavin Newsom has given his former spin doctor and spokesman a coveted state commission seat just five years after he pleaded no contest to domestic violence and child endangerment.

California’s lame duck governor, who terms out in January, who caused controversy last week by commuting the death sentences of 548 inmates, has handed Nathan Ballard, a coveted state commission seat.

“The governor considers the experience, qualifications, and suitability for each post in making appointments,” Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, told the California Post.

“He believes that abuse of any individual is unacceptable, and that those who commit such conduct should face accountability. He also believes in second chances.”

Ballard, who was appointed Friday to California’s State Historical Resources Commission, has maintained his innocence since he was charged with multiple crimes stemming from a drunken family trip to Napa in 2020.

Ballard was accused of shoving his wife’s head into a glass door and holding a pillow over his four-year-old daughter.

He pleaded no contest in 2021 to misdemeanor child endangerment and corporal injury to an intimate partner, receiving four years of probation. He has maintained his innocence, accusing his ex-wife of lying, and said a judge later modified a stay-away order to allow visitation with his children.

In a statement to the California Post, Ballard said he was “grateful” for Newsom’s appointment and accepts the criticism of his selection.

“During my years in the political arena, I often made the most of an opponent’s worst moment, so I can hardly ask anyone to overlook mine,” Ballard said.

The former Newsom aide — Ballard served as Newsom’s mayoral communications director from 2007 to 2010, a tumultuous time following revelations of Newsom’s scandalous affair with a married staffer — said he has maintained continuous sobriety since 2020 and completed four years of supervised probation in 2025 “with zero violations.”

Before his prosecution, Ballard’s client list included the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco’s police union.

“I fully accept the consequences of my mistakes. I was arrested once in my life, in 2020, at age 51,” Ballard said.

“Since then, I have worked hard to move forward with optimism and lead a productive and meaningful life that my children can be proud of.”

Ballard also described his longstanding relationship with Newsom, saying they have known each other for about 30 years.

“Over the last six years, I’ve worked with correctional officers on implementing the governor’s policy changes to our corrections institutions, which emphasize the rehabilitation and reintegration of people who have been incarcerated,” Ballard said.

In an interview with San Francisco Standard, Ballard said he applied for the appointment in the past month. He said he did not know former San Francisco Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier – one of many influential figures who defended Ballard in letters to the judge of his criminal case – was also being considered for an appointment. 

Newsom appointed Alioto-Pier to the California Citizens Compensation Commission, which sets elected officials’ salaries, a day before announcing Ballard’s selection. Neither position requires Senate confirmation.

Ballard’s post pays $100 per day of service.

Ballard told The Standard that neither he nor Alioto-Pier recommended the other, they never discussed applying, and he had “no idea” whether anyone recommended him to Newsom’s office.

In 2024, Ballard solicited at least 45 letters of support from political leaders and other prominent figures during his prosecution.

His defenders included former San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr, former acting Mayor Mark Farrell and Alioto-Pier.

Farrell used personalized stationery identifying himself as San Francisco’s 44th mayor and praised Ballard as a friend who “values family above all else.”

The letter became a point of controversy during Farrell’s failed run for mayor in 2024.

Alioto-Pier’s support of Ballard support prompted backlash that year, leading her to resign from a local Democratic Party committee designed to address sexual assault allegations. She told The Standard that in hindsight she would not have written the letter.

Chelsey Frank, co-president of the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee, criticized the appointments.

“We can’t treat these appointments as oversights,” Frank told The San Francisco Standard.

“The state commission seats are public honors, and handing these leadership positions to people with this type of record really tells survivors that proximity to power outweighs accountability.”

Ballard has aggressively challenged questions about his case in recent years, accusing his ex-wife of lying in an eight-page memo in 2024. He said he was forced to submit a no contest plea to avoid having his daughter testifying against her mother.

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In an interview with Politico this summer, Ballard again stepped forward as a Newsom proxy after Ruby Rippey-Gibney penned a tell-all with her side of the affair for Vanity Fair, and framed the bombshell essay as old news.

“The story broke right before my oldest daughter was born, and now she’s a sophomore at UCLA,” Ballard said.

He’ll now serve on a commission that reviews historic-register nominations and preservation standards. His term runs through June 2030.

“Every single issue before the commission, and everyone it affects, deserves a fair hearing before commissioners who keep an open mind and decide each matter on the record and the law alone,” Ballard said. “That’s what I aim to do.”