Florence Ballard her suit. Angered, Gordy ordered her to return to Detroit, and Birdsong officially replaced her, abruptly ending her tenure with the Supremes. It had been decided as early as May that Birdsong would be Ballard's official replacement once Birdsong's contract with the Bluebelles was bought out. In August 1967, the "Detroit Free Press" reported that Ballard had taken a temporary leave of absence from the group due to "exhaustion". Ballard eventually married her boyfriend, Thomas Chapman, on February 29, 1968. A week earlier, on February 22, Ballard and Motown negotiated to have Ballard released from the label. Her attorney in
Nathan Ballard Nathan Ballard Nathan Ballard is an American strategist and attorney. He was the communications director for the governor-elect of California, Gavin Newsom, when Newsom was the 42nd mayor of San Francisco. He is a longtime friend and advisor to Newsom. He is a member of the board of directors of The Representation Project, Jennifer Siebel Newsom's nonprofit organization. Ballard worked with the 43rd mayor of San Francisco, Ed Lee. He was an advisor to Mark Farrell, the 44th mayor of San Francisco. Ballard has worked as a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, the California Labor Federation, AFL–CIO, Secretary of