A Miami-Dade candidate was charged with domestic abuse. He's continuing his campaign

Feb. 13--A longtime pastor who is running for a Miami-Dade County Commission seat was arrested late last month after police say he violently grabbed his wife and slapped her in the face during an argument.

Mark Coats, the pastor for 20 years at Grace of God Baptist Church and a former county administrator, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of battery after a Jan. 29 incident at his home in Palmetto Bay.

According to an arrest affidavit by Miami-Dade Police, Coats' wife sustained "visible injuries" to her inner right arm and collar bone and complained of pain to her face. Police said Coats became upset after his wife "confronted him about the cleanliness of the home."

Coats told officers he had only tried to restrain his wife and that he didn't slap her, according to the arrest affidavit. He has entered a plea of not guilty.

He told the Miami Herald on Tuesday that the dispute was a "private matter," and that he was shocked by what was written in the report. He also said he and his wife have "resolved" the dispute. His wife could not be reached for comment.

Coats' attorney, Larry Handfield, told the Herald that Coats should not have been arrested. He suggested Coats' wife had "overreacted" to the incident and that she didn't tell the truth to police.

"Sometimes when emotions get the best of people, they say things that they wish they had not said," Handfield said. "He did not put his hands on his wife, and I'm quite sure his wife regrets what has happened."

Asked about the report that says Coats told police he did place his hands on his wife to restrain her, Handfield said he didn't mean literally that Coats hadn't touched her.

"If he was trying to restrain her, that would not be offensive or criminal conduct or contact," Handfield said.

Coats is running for the District 9 seat in the southern part of the county, which is being vacated by Dennis Moss after 27 years. Coats was a special assistant to Alex Penelas during Penelas' tenure as county mayor, according to his campaign website, and he was an aide and chief of staff to former Miami city commissioner Victor De Yurre.

He has also been an administrator for a private school, Grace Christian Preparatory in Homestead, which is affiliated with his church. Coats is an outspoken proponent of school choice.

Coats and his attorney said Tuesday that he is moving forward with his campaign despite the charges against him.

"There's no reason for him to get out of the campaign, especially when he's totally innocent," Handfield said.

His opponents on the Aug. 18 ballot include Kionne McGhee, a state representative and leader of the Florida House Democrats; former Homestead City Council member Elvis Maldonado; Johnny Farias, who sits on a zoning board known as the South Bay Community Council; and lawyer Marlon Hill.

Coats has raised about $44,000, less than each of his opponents has, according to campaign finance reports. Penelas donated $1,000 to his campaign in February 2018, the month Coats filed to run for office. Penelas did not respond to a request for comment on the arrest.

Coats also said Tuesday that he is still the pastor at his church in Goulds, a community in southeast Miami-Dade. Reached by phone, a representative for the church said Coats was still the pastor there but wouldn't comment on the allegations of domestic abuse.

Coats was released from the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami on his own recognizance after his arrest, according to court records. He is scheduled for an arraignment hearing on Feb. 24.

Miami Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.

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