Richard Ball
Richard Ball was a Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 85 from January 1, 2005 to January 1, 2011.
Dr. Ball graduated from Owosso High School and then attended the University of Michigan and Ohio State University where he graduated with a B.S. in Optometry. He served two years in the U.S. Army at the eye clinic in Fort Carson, Colorado. After his time in the army, he returned to Ohio State and earned a Master's in Physiological Optics. He attended Michigan State University and obtained a Ph.D. in Experimental Visual Psychology.
Dr. Ball was widowed in 1996, and has two sons, Dave who is married to Angela and Mike who is married to Mary. He has two grandchildren, Anna Marie, 12, and Nickolas, 9. In 2000 he married Connie Munsell. She has one son Brian who is married to Vickie. Dr. Ball and Connie live on a 100-acre farm in Bennington Township just outside of Owosso. Dr. Ball is 74 years old.
Previous offices held
State Rep. Richard Ball was elected to the Michigan House in November 2004. The Ball family has been active in Republican politics for more than half a century. His mother, Nell, was the Shiawassee County Chairperson for the Dwight Eisenhower presidential campaign in 1952. Ball has been an elected member of the Owosso Public School Board of Education from 1982-1991, serving the last six years as its president. He returned to the board of education in 1997 and continued as a member until his resignation on Jan. 10, 2005.
Voting record
Key votes of 2009-2010
- Click below to see how this representative voted.
- Super Speedway, Lawmakers voting on whether TO EXTEND A SPECIAL TAX PERK for a super speedway.
- Driver Responsibility Fees, Lawmakers voting on whether TO IMPOSE 'driver responsibility fees.'
- Crony Capitalism, Lawmakers voting on whether TO RESTRICT THE RIGHT of shareholders to sell their own stock.
- Right to Work, Lawmakers voting on an amendment SUPPORTING RIGHT-TO-WORK zones.
- Dept. of State Cost-Saving, Lawmakers voting on whether TO SLOW DOWN PROGRESS ON THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S COST-SAVING CONSOLIDATION PLAN.
- Golf Carts, Lawmakers voting on whether TO SUBSIDIZE the production of electric vehicle batteries.
- Home Court Disadvantage, Lawmakers voting on whether TO GIVE MORE TAXING POWER to local government in Kalamazoo so it can finance a taxpayer-subsidized sports arena.
- Fire Safe Cigarettes, Lawmakers voting on whether TO BAN the sale of cigarettes that are not "fire safe."
- Balancing Act, Lawmakers voting on a budget to CUT REVENUE SHARING PAYMENTS to local governments as a way to balance the state budget without raising taxes.
- Balancing Act 2, Lawmakers voting on a cut of less than 3 percent to K-12 school aid payments so as to balance the state budget without tax increases.
- A Good Tax Gone Bad?, Lawmakers voting on the Michigan Business Tax.
- It’s From the Children, Lawmakers voting on whether to RAID $90 MILLION from the Michigan Higher Education Student Loan Authority.
- Left Behind, Lawmakers voting on whether TO FINANCE "No Worker Left Behind" with a 59.9 percent increase in general fund spending in the 2009 DELEG budget.
- First Class Schools, Lawmakers voting on whether to keep Detroit Public Schools' "first class" status even though the district no longer meets the population standard.
- Politically Correct Capitalism, Lawmakers voting on whether to INCREASE SUBSIDIES for plug-in traction battery packs used in electric cars.
- Politically Correct Capitalism 2, Lawmakers voting on whether to GIVE SUBSIDIES for Michigan film production.
- Politically Correct Capitalism 3, Lawmakers voting on whether to INCREASE ELECTRIC CAR SUBSIDIES for a subsidiary of a Korean battery company.
- Secret Ballot, Lawmakers voting on whether to keep a SECRET BALLOT for union elections.
- Property Taxes Assaulted Again, Lawmakers voting on whether to allow public schools to EXPAND THE USE OF SINKING FUND property tax spending.
- Sneak Attack, Lawmakers voting on whether to allow public schools to EXPAND THE USE OF SINKING FUND property tax spending.
- Grapes of Wrath, Lawmakers voting on whether TO BAN home shipment of beer and wine to Michigan consumers.
- Subsidize Manufacture of Electric Cars, Lawmakers voting on whether to authorize a refundable Michigan Business Tax credit for makers of plug-in traction battery packs used in electric cars.
- Authorize Special Tax Breaks for Ethanol Gas Stations, Lawmakers voting on whether to authorize a non-refundable Michigan Business Tax credit equal to 30 percent of the costs incurred by a gas station to convert existing pumps and tanks, or acquire new ones that deliver E85 ethanol or biodiesel fuel.
More voting record details
- List of all of Richard Ball’s roll call votes, bills introduced, and floor amendments from MichiganVotes.org (use site’s “advanced search” to narrow by date range, issue category and/or keyword).
- List of Richard Ball’s 126 missed roll-call votes
Committee Assignments, 2009-2010
- Senior Health, Security and Retirement (Minority Vice Chair)
- Education
- Health Policy
Elections
2010
Ball was not eligible for re-election under Michigan's term limits.
2008
On November 4, 2008, Richard Ball ran for District 85 of the Michigan House of Representatives, beating Judy Ford and James Gould.[1]
Richard Ball raised $28,115 for his campaign.[2]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 85 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Richard Ball (R)
|
23,591 | |||
| Judy Ford (D) | 19,691 | |||
| James Gould (UST) | 1,369 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Campaign contributions
Contributions Report from Michigan Secretary of State
Contact
Rep. Richard Ball
S-1189 House Office Building
P.O. Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48933
(517) 373-0841
RichardBall@house.mi.gov
External links
- Michigan Legislature - Representative Richard Ball (dead link)
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Michigan Votes - Richard Ball
- Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Michigan House of Representatives District 85 2005–2011 |
Succeeded by Ben Glardon |
