Bill Ballenger

{{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_place =

| restingplace =

| restingplacecoordinates =

| birthname = William S. Ballenger III

| citizenship =

| nationality =

| party = Republican

| spouse = Virginia
(m. June 20, 1964); (div. April 15, 1986)

| relations = Susan Steiner Bolhouse, partner, 2000 -
William S. Ballenger Sr. (grandfather){{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}}

| children =

| parents =

| residence =

| alma_mater = Harvard University
Princeton University

| occupation =

| profession =

| cabinet =

| committees =

| portfolio =

| religion =

| signature =

| signature_alt =

| website =

| footnotes =

| blank1 =

| data1 =

| blank2 =

| data2 =

| blank3 =

| data3 =

| blank4 =

| data4 =

| blank5 =

| data5 =

| nickname =

| allegiance =

| branch =

| serviceyears =

| 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 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.[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/ballam-bancroft.html#146.85.93 The Political Graveyard: Ballenger, William S. III] 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.[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 }} 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.