Abrams in payoff, violence, racism scandal

MoCo School Board member and Republican perennial candidate Steve Abrams has been accused of assault and racial remarks by a former Republican County Council candidate who Abrams apparently paid off so that he could run for Council.

A former Montgomery County Council candidate has filed a complaint alleging that Montgomery school board member Stephen N. Abrams grabbed his throat and slammed his head against a wall last week in a dispute over campaign debt.

The complaint by Adol T. Owen-Williams II, 42, filed Wednesday with a county District Court commissioner, charges Abrams with second-degree assault and attempt to extort money through an accusation, which is a misdemeanor.

The kicker is the payoff:

Owen-Williams said he gave up his place as a Republican candidate on the November ballot under pressure from Abrams, who represents the Rockville-Potomac area on the school board and is a former Rockville City Council member.

Abrams wanted to run for an at-large seat on the council after losing his bid for the Republican nomination for state comptroller in the September primary. But to do so, he needed a candidate to step aside.

In exchange for Owen-Williams giving up his spot, Abrams agreed to take care of the $5,000 in expenses the council candidate had incurred during his primary campaign, Owen-Williams said. Abrams subsequently lost the council race.

And then we get to the part where the talk gets mean:

"When I brought it up to him -- at first, he was very condescending, telling me . . . , 'Listen, son, you don't have to bring that up again,' " Owen-Williams said. "I told him, 'Don't call me "son." ' "

But he said Abrams continued.

"He said, 'Listen, boy,' and he charged up the stairs towards me," he said. "He grabbed me by the neck and pushed my head against the wall. He tried to put his elbow against my neck, and I said three times, 'Don't you ever put your hands on me.' "

Owen-Williams said he resented Abrams's use of "boy" because it has racial connotations. Owen-Williams is African American, and Abrams is white.