跟进：纽森任命前发言人 Nathan Ballard 入州历史资源委员会引争议 其2021年曾就家暴案作不抗辩认罪
萨克拉门托 — 加州州长纽森11月6日任命他的前发言人 Nathan Ballard 为州历史资源委员会委员，这项任命连日来引发越来越多的批评：Ballard 曾于2021年就2020年12月在 Napa 一家度假酒店发生的事件，对「对亲密伴侣造成身体伤害」与「危害儿童」两项轻罪作不抗辩认罪，并被判处四年缓刑。
检方称，2020年12月，Ballard 在 Napa 的 Carneros Inn 度假时处于醉酒状态，把当时妻子的头部推向一扇玻璃门，并把一个枕头压在四岁女儿的头上。Ballard 2021年7月作不抗辩认罪后被判缓刑。他一直坚称自己清白，表示不抗辩认罪不等于承认有罪，他接受这项处理是为了不让女儿出庭作证。
受害者权利倡导者公开谴责这项任命。旧金山市长办公室受害者权利部门负责人 Ivy Lee 质问，为什么要把施虐者抬上高位。旧金山妇女政治委员会前主席 Nadia Rahman 称这项任命「令人发指」，认为 Ballard 不应被任命到任何公共机构。该委员会的另一位负责人 Chelsey Frank 说，州委员会的席位是公共荣誉，这样的选择给幸存者传递了错误信号。
纽森的一位发言人回应称，州长认为对任何人的虐待都不可接受，实施这类行为的人应当被问责；同时，州长也相信人应该有第二次机会。Ballard 本人表示，他对这项任命心存感激，并承认任命「有一点争议」并不意外。州历史资源委员会共有九名委员，负责审议历史资源名录提名、制定保护与修复标准；Ballard 的任期到2030年6月，每日津贴100美元，无须州参议院确认。纽森还在前一天任命曾在 Ballard 被起诉期间写信支持他的前旧金山监督员 Michela Alioto-Pier 为州公民薪酬委员会委员，这项任命同样受到质疑。
Ballard 曾于2007年至2010年担任时任旧金山市长纽森的通讯主任。GSM 已在本月6日的州长任命名单报道中报道这项任命本身；本稿是任命公布后争议发展的跟进。
关联：纽森宣布四项任命：住房机构、州历史资源委员会与圣华金河保护局各有人选
（来源：纽约邮报）
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)
来源：纽约邮报
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
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GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story
