Thread: Man Who Pistol-Whipped Wife Elected Mayor

Man Who Pistol-Whipped Wife Elected Mayor
David Spellman On Probation After Guilty Plea

UPDATED: 10:10 am EDT July 13, 2006
BLACK HAWK, Colo. -- A former city councilman in Black Hawk, Colo., who pleaded guilty last week to pistol-whipping his wife was sworn in Wednesday as town mayor.
David Spellman entered the guilty plea to felony menacing and third-degree assault charges after police said he hit his wife in the head several times with a .380-caliber handgun and fired three shots, the Rocky Mountain News reported in its Wednesday editions.
The guilty plea came in a plea bargain in which more serious charges were dropped, including domestic violence, felony menacing, using a gun while drunk and recklessness with a gun, according to the newspaper.
The town of Black Hawk's vote for the new mayor was unanimous. They said there was no history of assault, and they were willing to give him a second chance.
"If there's a message in this, it's that if you engage in domestic violence in Black Hawk, you will be prosecuted no matter who you are," said Black Hawk spokesman, Chuck Ford. "The courts will sentence you and we will see that you live up to the sentence."
If Spellman completes his probation, the felony charge of menacing will be dropped.
The incident happened in 2005 and the couple has reconciled.
Spellman's election by the six-member City Council came after the death last month of Kathern Eccker, who had served as mayor for the past 15 years.
"We don't think it detracts from his ability to be mayor, and will probably, in the long run, make him a better human being," said Ford. "We're all fallible. We come from a very tight knit small community in Black Hawk. We're probably a little more willing than the average listener in Denver to forgive and give people a second chance."
Only 178 people live in Black Hawk, but the town is home to the largest limited-stakes gambling operation in the state.
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Can you run for public office and have a felony? This town must be desperate to elect this man for their Mayor what does this say for people who would elect a person who pistol whipped his wife? How do the rest of the people in this town treat "their" women? This is totally offensive to normal sane people, they are saing "ok, so this man did pistor whip his wife a little, we are going to forgive him and award him for his behavior. first, I would say the ladies of this town must have terribly low self-esteem to allow someone like this to have power over them as their Mayor! Secondly, I would say all wife beaters might want to move to this town, as it seems to be a safe haven for abusers. Thirdly, I would say, if this town submits to this kind of behavior out of their Mayor, what else do they turn a blind eye to? Does this mean, they might forgive a child abuser of his sins and allow him to be their chief of police, or hold a city counsel seat, or better yet , to be on the school board? Why not, seems like this is a wide open liberal town here willing to forgive whatever their citizens desire to do and still reamain in public office! God forbid, this town derserves whatever they get from their new Mayor!

"We don't think it detracts from his ability to be mayor, and will probably, in the long run, make him a better human being," said Ford.

What, "make him a better human being." Now I've heard it all, I'd say his actions have shown what kind of person he is, not what kind he'll be!

What is happening to my country???????

Isn't committing a crime a prerequisite for holding public office? My prediction is this guy will have a high approval rating and probably get easily re-elected for another term. Someday he may even get elected president.

Originally Posted by Brian503a

Isn't committing a crime a prerequisite for holding public office? My prediction is this guy will have a high approval rating and probably get easily re-elected for another term. Someday he may even get elected president.

Your probably right. People are so stupid anymore it's unbelieveable. Thank goodness he's only a mayor and doesn't hold a federal position so those idiots deserve what they get. And I thought DC was stupid with electing Marion Berry.

This is totally offensive to normal sane people, they are saing "ok, so this man did pistor whip his wife a little, we are going to forgive him and award him for his behavior.

Sounds a bit familiar, huh? No matter what the crime.....illegally crossing the border, illegally stealing the social security numbers from our citizens, etc.........doesn't matter......hard working people, just trying to support their families. They should be allowed a path to outright citizenship.
Sound familiar?