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 in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

. He has a bachelor's degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and an MPA from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

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

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

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 central southern Michigan. The station is owned by Michigan State University (MSU) and operated as part of WKAR Public Media, alo ...

. 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 the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

Sources

*''Macomb Daily'', Jan. 21, 2013.
''Michigan Liberal'' article on Ballenger''Inside Michigan Politics'' bio of Ballenger

References

External links

* {{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 Living people 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature