Gregory A. Ballard

Infobox Politician
name = Gregory A. Ballard


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office = 48^th Mayor of Indianapolis
term_start = January 1, 2008
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predecessor = Bart Peterson
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birth_date = birth date and age|1954|11|20
birth_place = Indianapolis, Indiana
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party = Republican
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residence = Indianapolis, Indiana
alma_mater = Indiana University
occupation = Lecturer, Former Marine
religion = Roman Catholic


website = http://www.ballardformayor.com
footnotes =

Gregory A. Ballard (born 1954) is the Republican mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. On Tuesday, November 6, 2007, he defeated two-term incumbent Democratic Mayor Bart Peterson by 51% to 47%. [http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IN_PETERSONS_DEFEAT_INOL-?SITE=PAGRE&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT] Many political pundits described it as the biggest upset in Indiana political history. [ [http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007311060005 Ballard grabs upset win in mayoral race | IndyStar.com ] ]

Background

Ballard was born at Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis to Duard and Mary Ballard. He graduated from Cathedral High School, a Catholic high school, having lived in Indianapolis for his entire childhood.

Ballard earned a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Indiana University. After graduating, he joined the United States Marine Corps. He continued his education while serving in the Marines, becoming a Distinguished Graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and attained a Master’s Degree in Military Science from Marine Corps University, which included operations analysis studies.

While stationed in California, he met his future wife Winnie. He later was transferred to Okinawa, Japan. He also served in the first Gulf War. His military career culminated in his service as a Lieutenant Colonel with the European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, where he retired in 2001 with 23 years of service. While in the service, he earned numerous medals, including the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal] , the Kuwait Liberation Medal, the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and the Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.

Beginning in 2001, Ballard worked for Bayer in Indianapolis, before becoming self-employed as a leadership and management consultant. He authored and self-published "The Ballard Rules: Small Unit Leadership". He has also taught seminars at the Indiana Business College. He is an avid golfer. [ [http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071108/LOCAL190501/311080002 Mayor-elect man about town: phone calls, handshakes, hugs | IndyStar.com ] ]

Mayoral win

Ballard was the only Republican to file for mayor, as few members of the city's once-dominant Republican Party were willing to run against Peterson.

Ballard was dramatically outspent by Peterson. He had only $300,000 in campaign funds and low name recognition when he began the race. [ [http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/LOCAL190501/711070435 Mayor-elect is confident of his ability, leadership | IndyStar.com ] ] In comparison, Peterson already had $2.9 million in April (Ballard had $9,560 at the time). [http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071014/LOCAL19/710140417 The Marine who would be mayor | IndyStar.com ] ] As late as October 14, Ballard had run no TV ads. An October 19 campaign finance report showed that Peterson had raised $1.5 million since April and still had that much to spend. Comparatively, Ballard only had $51,000 left, meaning that Peterson had 30 times the funds Ballard had during the last three weeks of the campaign. [ [http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=7239340 WTHR - Indianapolis News and Weather - Peterson's fundraising far outweighs competition ] ]

Nonetheless, on November 6, 2007, Ballard won the race to become mayor of Indianapolis. Unhappiness with rapidly increasing taxes and crime were seen as the biggest reasons for Peterson's defeat. Republicans also recaptured control of the City-County Council for the first time in four years. In his acceptance speech, Ballard told the audience he considers this campaign "the classic, if not the ultimate, example of grassroots politics." [ [http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/LOCAL190501/311070006 Ballard grabs upset win in mayoral race | IndyStar.com ] ]

Ballard says that his first act as mayor will be to put the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department back under mayoral control, instead of its current control by Marion County Sheriff Frank J. Anderson. Other long-term goals as mayor include eliminating property taxes, various township organizations, and taxing authority for non-elected boards.

Ballard was officially sworn in to office on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at the Indiana War Memorial, in downtown Indianapolis. Ballard chose this site saying that it honored the men and women of the armed services.Fact|date=April 2008

Bibliography

*"The Ballard Rules: Small Unit Leadership." Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse, ISBN 9781420832228

ee also

References

* [http://www.indygov.org/eGov/Mayor/home.htm Official mayoral site]
* [http://www.ballardformayor.com Campaign website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gfgN64HwDI YouTube entries]