Gregory Alan Ballard (born November 20, 1954) is an American politician, author, and businessman who served as the 48th mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Marine Corps.
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. Ballard became a member of Delta Tau Delta.
After graduating, he joined the United States Marine Corps. He continued his education while serving in the Marines, becoming a distinguished graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and attained a master's degree in military science from the Marine Corps University, which included operations analysis studies. While stationed in California, he met his future wife Winnie. He later was transferred to Okinawa, Japan.
He served in the first Gulf War. 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, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, 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.
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, in downtown Indianapolis. 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 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.