Bill Ballenger (born 28 March 1941) was the editor of ''Inside Michigan Politics'' a newsletter of Michigan Politics until January 2016. He previously served as a Republican member of both the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan State Senate. In March 2016, he founded The Ballenger Report political blog, followed by a weekly podcast. Ballenger was born in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

. He has a bachelor's degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and an MPA from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He was the Robert P. & Marjorie Griffin Professor in American Government at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

from 2003 until 2007. He also served for a time as Michigan racing commissioner and director of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulation.Michigan Policy Network introduction to interview with ballenger
Ballenger has for many years been a panelist on the Michigan state politics public affairs television program ''Off the Record with Tim Skubick'' on

WKAR-TV WKAR-TV (channel 23) is a PBS member television station licensed to East Lansing, Michigan, United States, serving the Central Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The station is owned by Michigan State University and operated as part of its Broadcastin ...

. Ballenger was Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education & Welfare under

Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

Sources

*''Macomb Daily'', Jan. 21, 2013.
''Michigan Liberal'' article on Ballenger''Inside Michigan Politics'' bio of Ballenger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballenger, Bill 1941 births Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Republican Party Michigan state senators Princeton University alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Central Michigan University faculty 20th-century American politicians Living people