Gregory R. Ball
Encyclopedia
Gregory R. Ball is an American business executive, former active duty Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 officer and member of the New York State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...

. He is a resident of Carmel
Patterson, New York
Patterson is a town in Putnam County, New York, United States. The town is in the northeast part of the county. Interstate 84 passes through the southwest part of the town. The population was 11,306 at the 2000 census. The town is named after early farmer Matthew Paterson...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Beginning his political career in 2005, he defeated six-term incumbent Willis Stephens
Willis Stephens
Willis “Will” Stephens Jr. was a politician that represented the 99th District in the New York State Assembly. After serving in the Assembly for twelve years, Stephens was defeated in the September 2006 primary by Assemblyman Greg Ball and lost the Republican nomination. He was one of only three...

 in a primary in September 2006, running on a platform of reforming the legislature in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

. Since being elected, Ball has been active in issues involving school and property tax reform, second amendment rights, animal protection, the environment, renewable energy and conservation, veteran's affairs, and illegal immigration, and was the author of the measure enacted in the 2008 New York State budget offering free college tuition
Tuition
Tuition payments, known primarily as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in British English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Indian English, refers to a fee charged for educational instruction during higher education.Tuition payments are charged by...

 to military veterans. In the State Senate, he serves as the Chairman of the Committee on Veterans and Homeland Security.

Early career and background

Ball was born in Pawling
Pawling (village), New York
Pawling is a village in Dutchess County, New York, USA. The population was 2,233 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and grew up on the Kennedy estate of Stephen
Stephen Edward Smith
Stephen Edward Smith was the husband of Jean Ann Kennedy. He was a financial analyst and political strategist in the 1960 United States Presidential campaign of his brother-in-law, John F. Kennedy.-Biography:...

 and Jean Kennedy-Smith, sister of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

, where his parents were both caretakers. In 1996, he was awarded the Falcon Foundation Scholarship and attended the Valley Forge Military Academy
Valley Forge Military Academy and College
Valley Forge Military Academy & College is an American all male preparatory boarding school and coeducational junior college in the military school tradition...

 before receiving an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...

 from Congresswoman Sue Kelly. He was the first member of his family to attend college. While at Valley Forge, Ball interned in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

 Drug Policy Office during the term of President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

.

At the Air Force Academy, Ball received a Bachelors of Arts in Government in 2001, graduating with the highest GPA in his major. He is completing his Masters in International Affairs
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...

 at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

, and was a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...

 at the Center for the Study of the Presidency
Center for the Study of the Presidency
The Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress is a non-profit, non-partisan policy and education organization located in Washington, D.C...

 from 2002 to 2003. Ball is a board member of the Valley Forge Military Academy & College Association of Graduates, and is a member of several area Chambers of Commerce and business associations.

USAF service

Ball was commissioned as an Air Force Lieutenant and requested an assignment with the Air Force Academy's Diversity Recruitment Office
Military recruitment
Military recruitment is the act of requesting people, usually male adults, to join a military voluntarily. Involuntary military recruitment is known as conscription. Many countries that have abolished conscription use military recruiters to persuade people to join, often at an early age. To...

, and was posted in Philadelphia for a one year tour working as a Minority Admissions Officer. While stationed there, he created a charity polo event for underprivileged youth known as the Courage Cup, which presented $10,000 to charities in 2004. The Courage Cup was also investigated by the Washington Post after allegations that Ball was diverting funds from the charity to his political campaigns.

Ball was then assigned to the 11th Wing
11th Wing
The 11th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. It is stationed at Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility, Maryland. It is the host unit at Joint Base Andrews....

 at Bolling Air Force Base
Bolling Air Force Base
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling is a military installation, located in Southeast Washington, D.C., established on 1 October 2010 in accordance with congressional legislation implementing the recommendations of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission...

 in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 as protocol officer
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...

, a newly created services career field. The Ceremonies & Protocol office was responsible for planning, organizing and developing projects for the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff, as well as coordinating honor guard
Honor guard
An honor guard, or ceremonial guard, is a ceremonial unit, usually military in nature and composed of volunteers who are carefully screened for their physical ability and dexterity...

 burial services at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

.

During his time in the Ceremonies & Protocol Office, Ball was a Project Officer for numerous events. The largest may have been the 2003 Global Air Chief's Conference, the first since 1997, which he coordinated for 90 air power leaders from around the world, as well members of Congress, national dignitaries, industry leaders and diplomats on the 100th anniversary of powered flight.

The young lieutenant was charged with directing National Hispanic Heritage Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month is the period from September 15 to October 15 in the United States, when people recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States and celebrate the group's heritage and culture....

 in 2002, 2003, and 2004. He organized special exhibits and demonstrations to recognize the many contributions made by Hispanic countries and cultures, and hosted Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...

, then White House Counsel
White House Counsel
The White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States.-Role:The Counsel's role is to advise the President on all legal issues concerning the President and the White House...

, in 2003. Along with a volunteer committee, Ball washed cars in the base parking lot to raise donations for wing wide events to celebrate and recognize Hispanic-American service members and their contributions throughout history.

In 2003, Ball was nominated as "Military Volunteer of the Year" for the 11th Wing. He was awarded an achievement medal for outstanding service by General
General (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...

 John P. Jumper
John P. Jumper
John P. Jumper is a retired United States Air Force general, who served as Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from September 6, 2001 to September 2, 2005. He retired from the Air Force on November 1, 2005. Jumper was succeeded as Chief of Staff by General T. Michael...

 and was honorably discharged from active duty in January 2005, without ever serving in harm's way, at the rank of Captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...

. Ball remains in the U.S. Air Force Ready Reserve
Individual Ready Reserve
The Individual Ready Reserve is a category of the Ready Reserve of the Reserve Component of the Armed Forces of the United States composed of former active duty or reserve military personnel, and is authorized under...

.

Business career

Upon his separation from active duty, Ball was recruited by the Antioch, Illinois
Antioch, Illinois
Antioch is a village in the Antioch Township of Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,430 at the 2010 census. Antioch is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.- Prior to incorporation :...

 based Exceed International, a commercial development corporation with a presence in India, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 and Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

. Placed in charge of the marketing department, he served as a team member with the Company President on a 38-company executive mission to an economic summit in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

, which included representatives from companies such as Amex
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...

, Cargill
Cargill
Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...

, New York Life, Dow Chemical, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

, Bechtel
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 5th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...

, and Cognizant. Later, Exceed invested $11.1 million in India to expand operations. Construction began on six projects in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

, which included the ESPEE IT Park, and the Bascon Technology Park, which helped Exceed establish a foothold in India. The company also invested as a joint venture partner in mixed use residential projects such as a water treatment facility.

Eventually, Ball was elevated to Vice President of Exceed's Northeastern United States division and returned to New York. The Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 based developer employs nearly 400 people in various fields such as project management, development, architecture, engineering, construction, government relations, finance, and technology. In 2006, Exceed proposed a $75 million urban renewal project for the village of Brewster
Brewster, New York
Brewster is a village within the town of Southeast in Putnam County, New York, United States. Its population was 2,162 at the 2000 census. The village is the most densely populated portion of the town...

 which would generate some $2 million a year in tax revenue for the town. The village's Mayor noted that "All of the infrastructure work recently completed by defining our identity within the watershed has paid off. Brewster finds itself in a situation where people are eagerly interested in working with the village in partnership to see our village revitalized".

Political career

In early 2005, Ball announced his candidacy for State Assembly as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 and stated he would attempt to unseat the incumbent Assemblyman Will Stephens in a primary. Stephens' family had held the seat nearly continuously for eighty years: his grandfather, D. Mallory Stephens, represented the district from 1926 to 1952; his father, Willis Stephens Sr., held the seat from 1952 to 1982; and Stephens himself served from 1994 to 2006. Ball received over $110,000 in campaign contributions for the race. He was placed on the primary ballot by the signature of over 1800 petitioners.

At times Ball's campaign was noted for its unorthodoxy, including hiring a man in a chicken suit to follow around the incumbent after Stephens refused to debate him.
On September 12, 2006, in the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Primary for New York's 99th District, Ball defeated Stephens in a landslide with 70.4% (5,165 votes) to 29.6% (2,176 votes) for Stephens, the lowest vote total for any incumbent running for reelection to the State Assembly that day. Stephens drew criticism when he refused to repudiate a letter about challenger Greg Ball which falsely claimed Mr. Ball had received a dishonorable discharge from the United States Air Force.

New York State Assembly (2007 – 2010)

Ball has stated that "since my election victory, we have made extraordinary progress by elevating the debate on tough issues like taxes, illegal immigration and dysfunction in Albany." He was sworn into office on January 8, 2007. The first time Ball rose to speak in the Assembly chamber, he called the legislature "dysfunctional", and withstood boos from his colleagues. The next day, Governor Spitzer called Ball to express support for his sentiments.

Ball stated that "It was not easy getting up as the new guy and standing up to tell a group of people what they don’t want to hear" but his speech became so popular that soon dozens of reporters began calling, he appeared on Fox News, excerpts from the floor speech popped up on numerous political blogs, his campaign web site received so many visits that its server crashed, and, a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 video of his remarks was ranked 80th among new videos the day it was uploaded. Although the remarks were contentious, they echoed a fifty-six page study from the nonpartisan New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

 School of Law's
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....

 Brennan Center for Justice
Brennan Center for Justice
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School is a non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on issues involving democracy and justice...

, which referred to the legislature as "the least deliberative and most dysfunctional in the nation".

As ranking member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, Ball announced legislation expanding the eligibility for veterans to receive tax exemption benefits, including the exemption of real property owned by certain disabled veterans from property taxation. Ball authored the bill that created the tuition remission program for veterans, offering them free tuition at both SUNY and CUNY undergraduate and graduate institutions. Governor Eliot Spitzer included the measure in his 2008 executive budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...

 proposal, and the measure was kept funded in Governor David Paterson's version.

According to The Journal News
The Journal News
The Journal News is a newspaper in New York serving the suburban New York City counties of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam, a region known as the Lower Hudson Valley. It is owned by the Gannett Company, Inc. The Journal News was created through a merger of several daily community newspapers...

, one key to Ball's success was that his campaign identified the concern local voters cared most about: illegal immigration. The New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...

reported that Ball defines himself as a moderate on the immigration issue. Ball made illegal immigration a focal point of his bid for office. In October 2007, he strongly criticized Governor Spitzer's plan to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants
Eliot Spitzer drivers license controversy
On September 21, 2007, Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer issued an executive order directing that state offices allow illegal aliens to be issued driver's licenses effective December 2007. The measure was introduced three times...

. He was at the forefront of the opposition to the plan, and his Statewide petition to stop it led to the Assembly Minority Conference's decision to sue the Governor to stop the plan.

Ball has worked to promote businesses that hire legal immigrant laborers, and has begun to create a database for usage on his campaign website. His campaign headquarters in Pawling
Pawling (village), New York
Pawling is a village in Dutchess County, New York, USA. The population was 2,233 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area...

  may have been targeted over the contentious issue, and was vandalized with swastikas in October 2006, although the person or persons responsible misspelled the word "Fascist" twice. An oft-quoted line from his campaign literature was that "Illegal Immigration is Illegal".

2008 election

Ball was referred to as "one of the rising stars in the Republican Party" during speculation that he would run against freshman Congressman John Hall in 2008, although he later ruled out a challenge against Hall.

In early May 2008, John Degnan, the former Mayor of Brewster, New York
Brewster, New York
Brewster is a village within the town of Southeast in Putnam County, New York, United States. Its population was 2,162 at the 2000 census. The village is the most densely populated portion of the town...

, announced he would be mounting a challenge to the freshman Assemblyman. In the September 9th, 2008 primary, Ball was reelected by a 3 to 1 margin amongst Republicans. He again faced Degnan, who had the Democratic nomination, in the general election, and was re-elected with 60% of the vote.

Feud with State Senator Vincent Leibell

In July 2010, State Senator Vincent Leibell
Vincent Leibell
Vincent L. "Uncle Vinny" Leibell, III is a convicted felon and disgraced politician from Putnam County, New York. After a long career in the New York State Legislature, Leibell ran for and was elected County Executive-elect in Putnam County in 2010, but resigned prior to taking office following an...

 blamed Ball for a raid of the Senator's home which was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

.http://www.putnamcountycourier.com/news/2010-07-01/Front_Page/Leibell_Blames_Ball.htmlhttp://ncnlocal.com/ncnlocal_news/article_df5076f0-8e94-11df-af71-001cc4c03286.html The Senator was later arrested, tried, and convicted on several counts of Federal corruption charges.http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/nyfo120610.htm Ball had often accused the Senator of using the office as his "personal piggy bank."http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2010/12/03/putnam-sheriff-its-a-sad-day-for-the-county/ The feud between Leibell and Ball dated back to the 2008 election, when Ball first accused the Senator of orchestrating a "smear campaign" against him. http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2010/07/30/balls-mother-ex-girlfriend-defend-him-against-attacks/

On August 26, 2008, a local newspaper known as The Putnam Times published court documents surrounding the breakup between Ball and a Washington, D.C. woman in 2003. Ball blamed Leibell for hiring private investigators for the newspaper article, and for funding the campaign of his Democratic challenger, John Degnan. Ball stated both he and the woman both filed for orders of protection following the end of their relationship. In November 2003, both Ball and the woman asked the court to dismiss their complaints against each other, which was done. Ball told The Daily News that "It was just a heartfelt breakup where both parties jointly requested a 'cooling off' period, and the entire matter was mutually dismissed. My life is an open book, and always has been."

While The Putnam Times, a local paper incorrectly reported that Ball violated the order of protection by following the woman to Israel on July 20, News Channel 12, a regional network, pointed out that order of protection was filed six days earlier on July 14, and court records state Ball traveled to Israel on June 20. The Poughkeepsie Journal also later pointed out that there was never a criminal restraining order, and the documents printed by the Times was actually a temporary order of protection
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...

, which anyone can request.

Following the revelations that Ball's ex-girlfriend filed for an order of protection against him in 2003, on September 3, 2008 the Journal News reported that a former member of Ball's staff had accused him of sexually harassing her in a letter sent to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver detailing the incident. Perrault's accusations were later found to be fabrications and Ball was exonerated.

Initially, News 12 analyst Mike Edelman called the report "not credible," and many questioned the timing of the complaint, as the former staff member waited a year to write the letter until a few days before the primary election. The previous day, Ball had released e-mails from his former Chief of Staff, which stated that Perreault was ready to "go forward with a lawsuit and 'embellish' some of the details," calling the letter to Silver into question. Ball said the letter was part of a "smear campaign", and that the ex-Chief of Staff was a "mole" for State Senator Vincent Leibell, who was backing his primary opponent. Ball released a taped phone conversation between the ex-Chief of Staff and a local political candidate, where his former deputy stated he was working for "the senate" to "neuter" Ball. Although at first, the ex-Chief of Staff denied working for the senate to The Journal News, the next day, he admitted it in another article, but Senator Leibell denied any conspiracy.

The Assembly Ethics committee met in October 2008, reaching a ‘not guilty’ verdict and ruling that no harassment ever occurred, and unanimously voted to throw out the frivolous charges against Assemblyman Ball. The accuser, the 60-year-old Perrault, had been the target of numerous sexual harassment allegations at a prior job, where she was a supervisor. It was noted that Ball's accuser had herself settled four lawsuits for an undisclosed sum, at least three of which accused her of sexual harassment.

2010 election, notable votes

In May 2009, Ball announced he was a candidate for Congress in New York's 19th congressional district. Ball drew some attention by raising more money than incumbent Congressman John Hall in the second quarter of 2009.http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2009/07/hall-trails-gop-challenger-in.html On November 21, 2009, Ball abandoned his Congressional run and decided to run for State Senate in District 40, the seat formerly held by Vincent Leibell
Vincent Leibell
Vincent L. "Uncle Vinny" Leibell, III is a convicted felon and disgraced politician from Putnam County, New York. After a long career in the New York State Legislature, Leibell ran for and was elected County Executive-elect in Putnam County in 2010, but resigned prior to taking office following an...

. http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20091121/NEWS01/91121008/Ball-to-run-for-state-Senate-in-2010 In a letter to his supporters, Ball stated that the job of reforming Albany had not been completed, saying, "From property tax reform to corruption in government, the job I set to do in 2006 is still incomplete, and it can only be accomplished by continuing to tackle our nation’s most dysfunctional legislature." http://ball4ny.com/on_the_ball/press-releases/ball-runs-for-senate Ball, who was opposed by the Republican Party operatives, defeated endorsed Republican candidate and Somers
Somers, New York
Somers is a town located in northeastern Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 20,434...

 town supervisor Mary Beth Murphy in a primary election in September 2010. On November 2, 2010 Ball won election to the New York Senate from the 40th district by a 52%-48% margin over Mike Kaplowitz
Mike Kaplowitz
Michael B. "Mike" Kaplowitz is an American lawyer, financial planner and Democratic politician from Somers, New York...

, also from Somers. On June 24, 2011, Ball voted against the Marriage Equality Act, which legalized marriages performed in the state regardless of the genders involved in the union. In a CNN interview, Ball said he did not think the bill went far enough in extending religious protections for “individuals and businesses with religious objections” to marriage equality for same-sex couples.

External links

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