Some Are Wary of Working With Abrams

Abrams says he prides himself on a sharp wit and sharp tongue, but he defies critics to find any case of physical violence.

"Anybody who knows me and knows my physical characteristics knows that I settle things verbally. I don't settle things physically," said Abrams, who is 5 feet 5 inches tall.

Owen-Williams, for his part, was the subject of a 2004 restraining order after a woman accused him of stalking and verbal terror. He says the woman sought the order in retaliation after he repeatedly accused her of stalking him.

According to Owen-Williams, he and Abrams came to blows over an unpaid political debt: Abrams ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the County Council in place of Owen-Williams, who said he agreed to give up his spot on the ballot so long as Abrams would take care of expenses he had incurred in the primary.

To corroborate his version, Abrams provided handwritten notes to prosecutors from Scott Dyer, a former Republican County Council candidate, stating that Dyer observed Owen-Williams "with hands (both) up at neck area appearing to strangle Steve." Owen-Williams said Dyer saw only "the last five or 10 seconds" of the incident.

Tom Reinheimer of the GOP Central Committee backs up the allegation that Abrams referred to Owen-Williams as "boy."

Reinheimer said he walked in on the men, and Abrams told him: " 'See what your boy did? That's your boy.' " He thinks Abrams meant to portray Owen-Williams as the chairman's political lackey.

"I think that can be taken in a racial context, but I don't think that's how Abrams meant it," Reinheimer said.