{{Short description|American politician (born 1941)}} {{about||the auto industry executive and grandfather of Bill Ballenger|William S. Ballenger Sr.|other people with similar names|William Ballinger (disambiguation){{!}}Bill Ballinger}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = The Honorable | name = Bill Ballenger | honorific_suffix = | image = Bill Ballenger 1973.png | alt = | state_senate = Michigan | district = 30th | term_start = January 1, 1971 | term_end = December 31, 1974 | predecessor = Emil Lockwood | successor = Richard J. Allen | state_house2 = Michigan | district2 = 87th | term_start2 = January 1, 1969 | term_end2 = December 31, 1970 | predecessor2 = Blair G. Woodman | successor2 = R. Douglas Trezise | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1941|03|28}} | birth_place = Flint, Michigan | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Death-date and age|Month DD, YYYY|Month DD, YYYY}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | birth_name = William S. Ballenger III | citizenship = | party = Republican | spouse = Virginia<br><small>(m. June 20, 1964)</small>; (div. April 15, 1986) | relations = Susan Steiner Bolhouse, partner, 2000 - <br>William S. Ballenger Sr. (grandfather)<ref name="MPHS Ballenger">{{cite web |last1=Bolhouse |first1=Susan Steiner |last2=Melinn |first2=Kyle |title=WILLIAM (BILL) S. BALLENGER |url=https://www.mipoliticalhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Ballenger-Bill.pdf |publisher=Michigan Political History Society |access-date=September 9, 2023 |date=November 19, 2012}}</ref> | children = | parents = | alma_mater = Harvard University<br>Princeton University | occupation = | profession = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = | blank1 = | data1 = | blank2 = | data2 = | blank3 = | data3 = | blank4 = | data4 = | blank5 = | data5 = <!--Military service--> | nickname = | allegiance = | branch = | service_years = | rank = | unit = | commands = | battles = | awards = | military_blank1 = | military_data1 = | military_blank2 = | military_data2 = | military_blank3 = | military_data3 = | military_blank4 = | military_data4 = | military_blank5 = | military_data5 = }}
'''Bill Ballenger''' (born 28 March 1941) was the editor of the newsletter ''Inside Michigan Politics'' until January 2016. Prior to this, he served as a Republican member of both the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan State Senate.<ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/ballam-bancroft.html#146.85.93 The Political Graveyard: Ballenger, William S. III]</ref> In March 2016, he founded The Ballenger Report political blog, followed by a weekly podcast.
Ballenger was born in Flint, Michigan. He has a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and an MPA from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He was the Robert P. & Marjorie Griffin Professor in American Government at Central Michigan University from 2003 until 2007. He also served for a time as Michigan racing commissioner and director of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulation.<ref>[http://www.michiganpolicy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=953:interview-with-bill-ballenger&catid=54:political-reform-interviews&Itemid=209 Michigan Policy Network introduction to interview with ballenger] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231184617/http://www.michiganpolicy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=953%3Ainterview-with-bill-ballenger&catid=54%3Apolitical-reform-interviews&Itemid=209 |date=December 31, 2014 }}</ref> 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.
Ballenger was Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education & Welfare under Gerald R. Ford.
==Sources== *''Macomb Daily'', Jan. 21, 2013. *[https://web.archive.org/web/20121115125708/http://www.michiganliberal.com/diary/11756 ''Michigan Liberal'' article on Ballenger] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20121226052508/http://www.insidemichiganpolitics.com/About.aspx ''Inside Michigan Politics'' bio of Ballenger]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{C-SPAN|58707}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballenger, Bill}} Category:1941 births Category:Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Category:Republican Party Michigan state senators Category:Princeton University alumni Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni Category:Central Michigan University faculty Category:Living people Category:20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature