A week after the sister of Republican gubernatorial nominee Bobby Charles publicly criticized him and his campaign, the candidate’s niece defended him in an op-ed responding to her mother.

Malvika Ames, who lives in Veazie, did not veer into politics in her op-ed published Wednesday in the Portland Press Herald. Instead, she focused on describing her memories of her uncle, a Leeds lawyer and former assistant U.S. secretary of state who is facing Democrat Hannah Pingree and independent Rick Bennett in the November contest to succeed Gov. Janet Mills.

“From my own experiences, I can say that Bobby has been a good uncle, a mentor and someone I am grateful to have in my corner,” Ames wrote.

The complimentary words from Ames come after her mother, Anita Charles, used an op-ed and a news conference last week to describe how she is supporting Pingree and cannot support her brother’s campaign due to his “divisive rhetoric,” attacks on public education and anti-abortion views.

The back-and-forth writings from different family members came as Bobby Charles has consistently trailed Pingree, a former Maine House speaker and the daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, in polling of the gubernatorial race by sizable margins.

In her op-ed, Anita Charles shared how someone known to the family repeatedly sexually assaulted her during her childhood and cited her brother’s friendship with former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who was convicted in 2015 of financial crimes related to covering up the sexual abuse of teenage boys.

Bobby Charles responded to his sister’s op-ed last week at a news conference in Portland, where he stressed his support for her in light of the sexual assault she experienced and said they “disagree on some things, but the big things in life, I would say, we don’t disagree on.”

Ames did not mention her mother in Wednesday’s op-ed. She recalled her favorite memories of spending holidays and summers with her uncle; how she received advice from him on buying a home; and how she talked with him through difficult moments and through the joy of her recently getting married.

“Families are complicated, and two people can have very different experiences and relationships within the same family,” Ames wrote. “I don’t believe it’s my place to speak for anyone else’s experiences, just as no one else can speak for mine.”