Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed his former communications adviser and spokesman to a coveted state commission position, just five years after the aide pleaded no contest to domestic violence and child endangerment charges.
Newsom, a lame-duck governor set to leave office in January, selected Nathan Ballard shortly after drawing criticism for commuting the death sentences of 548 inmates.
“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, named Friday to California’s State Historical Resources Commission, has maintained his innocence since facing multiple charges related to a drunken family trip to Napa in 2020.
Prosecutors accused Ballard 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 and was sentenced to four years of probation. Ballard has continued to deny wrongdoing, accusing his ex-wife of lying. He also said a judge later modified a stay-away order to permit him to visit his children.
In a statement to the California Post, Ballard said he was “grateful” for the appointment and acknowledged the criticism surrounding 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.
Ballard served as Newsom’s communications director during his tenure as San Francisco mayor from 2007 to 2010, a turbulent period that followed revelations of Newsom’s affair with a married staffer. The former aide said he has remained continuously sober since 2020 and completed four years of supervised probation in 2025 “with zero violations.”
Before his prosecution, Ballard’s clients included the Golden State Warriors and the San Francisco 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 pointed to his longstanding relationship with Newsom, saying the two have known each other for roughly 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.
Ballard told the San Francisco Standard that he applied for the appointment within the past month. He said he did not know that former San Francisco Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier was also under consideration. Alioto-Pier was among several influential figures who submitted letters supporting Ballard during his criminal case.
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Newsom appointed Alioto-Pier to the California Citizens Compensation Commission, which determines elected officials’ salaries, one day before announcing Ballard’s selection. Neither appointment requires Senate confirmation.
Ballard’s position pays $100 for each day of service.
Ballard told The Standard that he and Alioto-Pier did not recommend one another, never discussed applying and that he had “no idea” whether anyone recommended him to Newsom’s office.
In 2024, Ballard sought at least 45 letters of support from political leaders and other prominent figures while he was facing prosecution.
His supporters included former San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr, former acting Mayor Mark Farrell and Alioto-Pier.
Farrell wrote on personalized stationery identifying himself as San Francisco’s 44th mayor and described Ballard as a friend who “values family above all else.”
The letter became controversial during Farrell’s unsuccessful 2024 campaign for mayor.
Alioto-Pier’s support for Ballard also drew backlash that year, prompting her resignation from a local Democratic Party committee created 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 forcefully challenged questions about the case in recent years, accusing his ex-wife of lying in an eight-page memo released in 2024. He said he entered the no-contest plea to prevent his daughter from having to testify against her mother.
In an interview with Politico this summer, Ballard again acted as a Newsom proxy after Ruby Rippey-Gibney published her account of the affair in Vanity Fair. He characterized 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.
Ballard will serve on a commission that reviews historic-register nominations and preservation standards. His term will run 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.”