Nathan Ballard

Nathan Ballard is a U.S. Democratic strategist and attorney.[1][2][3] He was the communications director for the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, when Newsom was the 42nd mayor of San Francisco.[4][5] He is a longtime friend and advisor to Newsom.[6][7][8][9][10][11] He sits on the board of directors of The Representation Project, Jennifer Siebel Newsom's nonprofit organization.[12][13] Ballard had close ties with the 43rd mayor of San Francisco, Ed Lee.[14][15][16][17] He was an advisor to Mark Farrell, the 44th mayor of San Francisco.[18][19][20]

Nathan Ballard
Born
Nathan F. Ballard
OccupationDemocratic strategist
Spokesperson
Attorney
Known forFormer spokesman for Governor of California Gavin Newsom
Websitewww.nathanballard.com

Ballard has worked as a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, the California Labor Federation, AFL–CIO,[21] former Secretary of State John Kerry, and Wesley Clark.[22][23] Ballard was also a spokesman for the Golden State Warriors and was a spokesman for the Super Bowl 50 host committee.[24][25]

On December 3, 2020, Ballard was charged with two felony counts of domestic violence after allegedly pushing his wife through a glass door and attempting to suffocate his 4-year-old daughter with a pillow, according to the Napa Valley Sheriff's office. Ballard was placed under arrest on Oct. 20.[26]

Career

In 2000, Ballard was a deputy city attorney and spokesman for the city attorney in San Francisco.[27] He served as a deputy city attorney alongside Kamala Harris, later U.S. Vice Presiden.[28][29][30] Ballard was a spokesman for the California Democratic Party in 2002.[31] In 2002 he was also a spokesman for New Hampshire Senate President Beverly Hollingworth's campaign for governor of New Hampshire.[32] In 2003, Ballard was the spokesman for the California Labor Federation, AFL–CIO, during the recall of Governor Gray Davis.[33]

During the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign, Ballard was a spokesman for Wesley Clark during the primaries.[34] Later in 2004, Ballard was a spokesman for U.S. Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign in California.[35] In 2006, Ballard was U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Speier's spokesman when she campaigned for lieutenant governor of California.[36]

From 2007 to 2010, Ballard was the communications director for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.[37] He worked for a coalition of labor unions against a 2010 pension measure in San Francisco.[38] In 2010, Ballard was Rep. Jackie Speier's spokesman when she weighed a run for attorney general in California.[39] In 2010, Burson-Marsteller, a global public relations and communications consultancy, appointed Ballard as managing director.[40] He later resigned from the post.

In 2011, Ballard worked for a coalition including labor unions, civic leader Warren Hellman, and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to pass labor-backed reforms against a rival measure funded by Sir Michael Moritz.[41][42][43] Also in 2011, around the time of the Occupy Oakland protests, Ballard briefly served as a crisis manager for Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, following the resignation of the city's police chief.[44] At that time, he was described as having "lots of law enforcement clients".[44]

In 2012, Ballard was the spokesman for Proposition 38, a California tax measure for public education.[45] He was also the spokesman for the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards, made up of more than 100 chefs in California seeking to lift the state's ban on foie gras at the time.[46] Ballard was the spokesman for the union representing the San Francisco Symphony musicians during the 2013 strike.[47]

In 2013, Ballard was the spokesperson for San Francisco's bid to host the 2016 Super Bowl and the team spokesperson for the Golden State Warriors new arena project.[48][49][50] In 2014, he served as the spokesman for the Koret Foundation during its dispute with the founder's widow.[51][52] Ballard was also a spokesman for the San Francisco Bay Area's bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.[53]

In 2016, the San Francisco Police Officers Association hired Ballard for what was described as a "counterattack" against police reform attempts following the controversial killing of Mario Woods by officers and concerns about racism in the city's police department.[54][55][56] Ballard was criticized for using exaggerated crime figures in the union's campaign against reform proponent George Gascón, and acknowledged having misread the rates.[54] Ballard stepped down from the union to avoid a conflict of interest while serving as an advisor to San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell.[57]

In 2016, Ballard represented Burma Superstar, a restaurant chain that was sued for allegations of employee mistreatment.[58] In 2016 he was also the spokesman for Dede Wilsey during her campaign to remain the head of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.[59]

In 2017, Ballard worked for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf in the aftermath of the Ghost Ship warehouse fire that killed 36 people.[60] Ballard's PR agency, The Press Shop, was criticized for its role in managing public relations related to the Ghost Ship fire.[61][62]

In 2018, Ballard was a spokesman for Anthony Levandowski, a central figure in a legal battle between Waymo and Uber was called the "tech trial of the century."[63][64][65] Levandowski later pled guilty to stealing trade secrets from Google.[66] Ballard was a consultant to angel investor Ron Conway.[67]

In 2019, Ballard's PR agency opened a second office in Sacramento[68] and brought on the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, a 30,000-member union, as a client.[69] He represented a statewide coalition of "dozens" of legal cannabis companies.[70] His agency represented PG&E as the company faced bankruptcy and criticism about devastating wildfires.[71]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ballard represented a large chain of elder care providers in California where nearly half of the state's coronavirus deaths occurred in elder care facilities.[72][73] Ballard was a spokesman for the Getty family.[74]

Ballard is allied with U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.[75][76]

Recognition

In 2016, Ballard was profiled in San Francisco's "The Power Issue." He was recognized as one of San Francisco's "preeminent media whisperers" with "a junkyard dog persona."[77][78] In 2019, he was recognized as a "gamechanger" by U.C. Hastings.[79]

Further reading

References
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  3. California, The State Bar of. "Attorney Search : The State Bar of California". members.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
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  5. "A Spokesman Leaves: What Does It Mean for Gavin Newsom?".
  6. Cava, Marco della. "A year in, Gavin Newsom is still fighting Trump. Is he doing enough to govern California?". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  7. "As Trump battles California, Gov. Newsom makes big changes in first 100 days". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  8. "California's New Governor Has a Problem: His Own Party". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  9. "He has the cash and the name recognition. Is Gavin Newsom unstoppable?". The Mercury News. 2017-08-04. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  10. Daniels, Jeff (2018-11-07). "California Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom inherits surplus, booming economy, risks". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  11. Persons, Sally (2019-03-19). "California's early primary poised to pull 2020 Democrats further left". Fox News. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  12. "Brown vetoed but they're persisting: Take Two of MeToo hits Newsom's desk". CalMatters. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  13. "Miss Bigelow: Choices fundraiser shadowed by loss of Merla Zellerbach". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  14. "Ed Lee Remembered By Those Who Knew Him Best". Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  15. "Once-reluctant S.F. Mayor Ed Lee says he'll run for 2nd term". SFGate. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  16. "Ed Lee Remembered By Those Who Knew Him Best". Retrieved 2018-02-01.
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  22. "Missouri Democrats to host presidential debate in St. Louis".
  23. "S.F. mayor's spokesman stepping down".
  24. Matier, Phillip; Ross, Andrew (19 May 2015). "Warriors brass trying to tie arena push to playoff fever". San Francisco Chronicle.
  25. Aleaziz, Hamed (27 February 2015). "Super Bowl 50 hosts give $2.5 million for youth outreach". San Francisco Chronicle.
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  33. Murphy, Dean E. (30 September 2003). "With end near, recall race starts to look conventional". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
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  36. Rau, Jordan (29 May 2006). "State, Local Offices on the Line". Los Angeles Times.
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  39. Kinney, Aaron (2 February 2010). "Speier decides against run for attorney general". San Jose Mercury News.
  40. "Burson-Marsteller Hires Former Communications Director for San Francisco Mayor's Office and Veteran Democratic Strategist Nathan Ballard". www.businesswire.com. 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  41. Stevens, Elizabeth Lesly (12 February 2011). "Pressures build to slash costs of city employees". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
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  45. Barnes, Brooks (10 September 2012). "Californians Face Rival Ballot Initiatives That Would Raise Taxes and Aid Schools". New York Times.
  46. Norimitsu Onishi (12 August 2012). "Some in California Skirt a Ban on Foie Gras". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  47. Cohen, Ronnie (17 March 2013). "Fourth concert canceled as San Francisco Symphony strike continues". Reuters. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  48. "Miami's Stadium Problems Cloud Bid to Host Super Bowl in 2016, and Beyond".
  49. "Most stories of the year at City Hall started with tech".
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  52. Phillip Matier; Andrew Ross (8 October 2014). "Koret Foundation sued by founder's widow over charity's gifts". SFGate. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  53. Elliott Almond (20 November 2014). "Bay Area prepares 2024 Olympic bid". Contra Costa Times. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  54. Ho, Vivian (2016-03-24). "Amid push for S.F. police reform, union escalates counterattack". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  55. "Police union hires crisis manager to improve temper tantrums". The San Francisco Examiner. 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  56. "SF police union claims Gascon made disparaging remarks". The San Francisco Examiner. 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  57. "Mayor Farrell backs Taser ballot measure despite SFPD chief's opposition". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  58. "Burma Superstar disputes lawsuit from its employees". SFGate. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
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  60. "Kim wants city to ensure access to birth control".
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  62. Shaban, Bigad; Witte, Rachel; Horn, Michael (March 16, 2017). "Oakland Hired Pricey PR Agency After Deadly Warehouse Fire Paid Exec. $500/Hour". NBC Bay Area.
  63. Wong, Julia Carrie (2018-02-05). "The Uber trial exposing dirty secrets of Silicon Valley's greatest innovators". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  64. "Waymo Vs. Uber: Tech Trial Of The Century About Allegedly Stolen Trade Secrets Starts Tomorrow". The Inquisitr. 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  65. Wakabayashi, Daisuke (2018-02-06). "In Waymo-Uber Trial, Kalanick Recalls 'Jam Sesh' With Rival Engineer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
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  74. "John Gilbert Getty's Family Will Spend Thanksgiving 'Grieving,' Says Family Spokesman". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
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