Gregory Alan Ballard (born November 20, 1954) is an American politician, author, and businessman who served as the 48th mayor of
Indianapolis,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. He is a retired
Lieutenant Colonel from the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
.
On November 6, 2007, he defeated two-term incumbent Democratic Mayor
Bart Peterson by 51% to 47%. It was described as one of the biggest upsets in the political history of Indiana. He was re-elected to the position in
2011 by the same margin.
Early life, education, and military service
Ballard was born at
Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis to Duard and Mary Ballard. He was born and raised in the city. He graduated from
Cathedral High School, a Roman Catholic school. Ballard earned a bachelor's degree in Economics from
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest ca ...
. Ballard became a member of
Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta () is a United States-based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapter ...
.
After graduating, he joined the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
. He continued his education while serving in the Marines, becoming a distinguished graduate of the
Marine Corps Command and Staff College
Marine Corps University is a professional military education university system of the United States Marine Corps. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Master's Degrees.
H ...
, and attained a master's degree in
military science from the
Marine Corps University
Marine Corps University is a professional military education university system of the United States Marine Corps. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Master's Degrees.
...
, which included
operations analysis
Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve decis ...
studies. While stationed in California, he met his future wife Winnie. He later was transferred to
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
, Japan.
He served in the first
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
. His military career culminated in his service with the
United States European Command in
Stuttgart, Germany, where he retired in 2001 with 23 years of service. While in the service, he earned numerous awards, including the
Legion of Merit, the
Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include:
* Meritorious Civilian Service Award
*Meritorious Service Me ...
, the
Kuwait Liberation Medal Kuwait Liberation Medal may refer to:
*Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
*Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)
* Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait (Bahrain), see Gulf War military awards#Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait (Bahrain)
* Kuwait Libe ...
, the
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal
The Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Marine Corps. It was established on 8 May 1919 as the ''Marine Corps Expeditionary Ribbon''. A full-sized medal was authorized on 1 March 1921. The Marine Corps Exped ...
, the
Humanitarian Service Medal, and the
Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.
Business career
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
Harrison College was a private for-profit college based in Indianapolis, Indiana, with 11 campuses in Indiana, Ohio, and North Carolina. The college was founded as Indiana Business College in 1902 in Marion, Indiana. Harrison graduated more tha ...
.
Mayor of Indianapolis
Elections
;2007
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.
In comparison, Peterson already had $2.9 million in April while Ballard had only $9,560 at the time.
As late as October 14, Ballard had run no television ads.
[ An October 19 campaign finance report showed that Peterson had raised $1.5 million since April and still had that much on hand to spend. At that point, Ballard had only $51,000 left, meaning Peterson had 30 times the funds that Ballard had during the last three weeks of the campaign.
On November 6, 2007, Ballard defeated incumbent Mayor Peterson 50%–47%, a difference of 5,312 votes. 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."
;2011
Ballard won re-election to a second term, defeating former Deputy Mayor Melina Kennedy, 51%–47%.
Mayoralty
Ballard was sworn into office on Tuesday, January 1, 2008, at the Indiana War Memorial
The Indiana World War Memorial Plaza is an urban feature and war memorial located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, originally built to honor the veterans of World War I. and (PDF) It was conceived in 1919 as a location for the ...
, in downtown Indianapolis
Downtown Indianapolis is a neighborhood area and the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Downtown is bordered by Interstate 65, Interstate 70, and the White River, and is situated near the geographic center of Ma ...
. Ballard chose this site saying that it honored the men and women of the armed services. Ballard said his first act as mayor would be to put the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) is the law enforcement agency for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States. Its operational jurisdiction covers all of the consolidated city of Indianapolis and Marion Count ...
back under mayoral control, instead of its then-current control by Marion County Sheriff Frank J. Anderson.[
The Ballard administration took steps to sell the city's water and wastewater utilities to Citizens Energy Group and spend the $450 million the city received in return on street repair.
Improvements included paving, resurfacing, new sidewalks, more greenways, and bridge repair.
On September 9, 2010, Ballard announced the first batch of projects in the city's RebuildIndy initiative. The $55 million package of street, sidewalk and bridge projects is spread around the city, with many side streets selected for resurfacing as well as some major roads. Ballard also announced a $2 million set of projects that will improve traffic flow and pedestrian access in targeted areas along Michigan Road from Cold Springs Road to 86th Street—a stretch with few sidewalks—and along 71st Street and Westlane Road in the same area. The projects kick off an aggressive infrastructure improvement program. The mayor's office anticipates spending more than $500 million on such projects in coming years, largely funded by proceeds from the pending sale of the city's water and sewer systems to Citizens Energy Group, a nonprofit trust, and stimulus money. The utilities transfer is awaiting approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission after winning the City-County Council's OK earlier this year. Among its selling points for Ballard is the money to fund infrastructure improvements—though Ballard has said the city's needs are so great that the money won't cover them all.
On August 19, the City of Indianapolis announced it has received $13.8 million more than originally expected from a bond issue secured by the pending sale of its water and sewer utilities to Citizens Energy Group. The bond proceeds of $153.8 million compare with $140 million originally anticipated as one of the chunks of money from selling the utilities. The money is to be spent on street, bridge, and sidewalk projects, under the city's “RebuildIndy” program. That would bring total proceeds from selling the utilities—before subtracting fees and other costs related to the sale—to $504.4 million, from $490.6 anticipated when the City-County Council approved the sale.
In October 2008, Ballard announced the creation of the city's first Office of Sustainability and unveiled the SustainIndy initiative. The community-wide plan is focused on taking local action to be more environmentally conscious. Kären Haley leads the office. In August 2010, Ballard and the Office of Sustainability announced a program that provides incentives for property owners and developers to renovate or construct new buildings in a sustainable manner.
On December 12, 2012, Ballard signed Executive Order #6, making Indianapolis the first major city in the United States to commit to the conversion of its entire municipal non-police fleet to ]electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
or plug-in hybrid vehicles. The mayor also outlined a plan to convert the entire city government vehicle fleet to post-oil technology by 2025. Ballard cited concern over the compromises to national security created by national oil dependence as the reasoning behind this step in energy security
Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to (relatively) cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven d ...
. Ballard stated that his team was working with automakers to have the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department serve as technical advisors and test drivers to accelerate the creation of the first plug-in hybrid police vehicle that meets the needs of a modern urban police force. Such a fleet could save up to $10 million per year.
Personal life
Ballard is married to Winnie Ballard, together they have a son and a daughter. He is an avid golfer.
Bibliography
* ''The Ballard Rules: Small Unit Leadership.'' Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse;
References
External links
Official mayoral site
Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Greg
1954 births
Living people
United States Marine Corps personnel of the Gulf War
Indiana Republicans
Indiana University Bloomington alumni
Mayors of Indianapolis
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
United States Marine Corps officers
21st-century American politicians