The husband of City Council candidate Carole Dominguez was arrested Sunday morning on suspicion of battery and possessing marijuana after a dispute with Let Children Play Now! coordinator Nora Benevides at a Lincoln Park rally.

“My husband was arrested today,” Dominguez wrote in a brief statement after the arrest. “I condemn his actions. For the sake of my son, I have moved. While I was not involved, I regret completely the incident.”

Dominguez told the Tracy Press that she’d asked her husband not to attend the Let Children Play Now! rally, and she said she was elsewhere when her husband, Julio Cesar Dominguez, 53, was arrested.

Benevides is an employee of AKT Development, which is negotiating a deal with the city to build youth sports fields in exchange for the right to build homes for its Tracy Hills project when a quasi-moratorium is lifted in 2012. Dominguez opposes the deal.

Dominguez shielded Julio from Tracy Press questions, saying he was having “a mental issue.”

Let Children Play Now! volunteer Larry Peterson said he saw Julio Dominguez push Benevides.

“I saw him push her to push her away from him, and she stumbled and fell down,” said Peterson, who said he started volunteering with the group in late May.

Benevides, who is out of the country now and could not be contacted, was uninjured, according to a police report.

Capt. Juan Espinoza said in a report e-mailed to City Manager Dan Hobbs that an argument started when Julio Dominguez set up a barbecue during the event, despite a city permit that allowed Let Children Play Now! use of the park for a party. He refused Benevides’ request to leave.

“Mr. Dominguez allegedly ‘shoved’ Ms. Benavides in the chest and elbowed her without provocation,” Espinoza wrote.

Benevides demanded that police place Julio under citizen’s arrest for battery, according to Espinoza’s report, and when he was arrested, police allegedly found half a gram of marijuana in his pocket.

Let Children Play Now! helps the community voice support for a controversial deal that would give the city at least $20 million for sports fields in exchange for 4,700 homebuilding permits for AKT Development at the southwest Tracy Hills development.

Julio Dominguez faces misdemeanor charges of battery and marijuana possession.

To reach reporter John Upton, call 830-4274 or e-mail jupton@tracypress.com.