Mike Ball
| Mike A. Ball | |
Alabama State Representative for District 10 (Madison County)
| |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 6, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | James C. Haney |
|---|---|
| Born | September 17, 1954 Stockton, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Deborah Gray "Debbie" Ball |
| Children | Chris, Cara, and Mandy Two grandchildren |
| Residence | Madison, Alabama |
| Alma mater | Jefferson State Community College Athens State University |
| Occupation | Roofer Retired Alabama state police trooper |
| Religion | United Methodist |
Mike A. Ball (born September 17, 1954) is a businessman and a retired state police trooper and investigator from Madison, near Huntsville, Alabama, who is a Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives for District 10, based entirely in Madison County in the northeastern portion of the state. He has been in the seat since 2002.
A native of Stockton, California, Ball holds an associate's degree from Jefferson State Community College, which operates in four campuses in the northeastern portion of the state, and a bachelor's degree in political science from Athens State University in Athens, Alabama. He was a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps from 1973 to 1979. He operates a roofing business. Ball and his wife, the former Deborah Gray, have three children. He is a member of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Madison.[1]
In 1998, Ball ran unsuccessfully for the state House in District 9. After his first election in District 10 in 2002, Ball ran unopposed for his second, third, and fourth terms in 2006, 2010, and 2014, respectively.[2]
Ball is the chairman of two House committee, Ethics and Campaign Finance, and Madison County Legislation. He is a member too of the Judiciary Committee.[1]
In 2013, Representative Ball voted to establish health care standards for abortion facilities in Alabama. In 2014, he voted to prohibit abortion after the detection of the heartbeat of the unborn child. He voted to permit display of the Ten Commandments on public property, a measure which passed the House, 77-19. He supported drug testing for certain recipients of the public welfare system. In 2015, Ball sponsored legislation affirming the use of electrocution in executions. He voted to establish public charter schools in Alabama, a measure which passed the House, 58-41. He sponsored legislation to permit the home schooled to participate in public school athletic events, a measure approved by the full House, 52-43. He supported the increase in the cigarette tax, which passed the House, 52-46. In 2016, Ball co-sponsored legislation to forbid the sale of fetal tissue or to permit its use in research, and he opposed dilation abortions in Alabama. He voted for an increase in funding for new prison facilities, a measure which passed the House, 52-33. In 2017, he did not vote on the matter of allowing midwives to practice in his state, a measure which won House approval, 84-11. He supported reducing the time for appeals from inmates on death row. He broke with most conservatives to oppose the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, which prohibits the alteration or removal of historic Confederate monuments; the House still approved the measure, 72-29. He voted to prohibit judicial override of sentencing guidelines, a measure which passed the House, 78-19.[3]
In 2012, Ball endorsed in the presidential primary election the unsuccessful Republican nominee Mitt Romney.[2]
Ball was an early supporter of conservative Republican former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore for the United States Senate seat vacated by now Attorney General Jeff Sessions.[4] Moore now faces a liberal Democrat, former United States Attorney Doug Jones, in the December 12 special election.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mike Ball's Biography. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on October 27, 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mike Ball (Alabama). Ballotpedia.org. Retrieved on October 27, 2017.
- ↑ Mark Ball's Voting Records. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on October 27, 2017.
- ↑ Mike Casson (August 22, 2017). Roy Moore gets endorsements from 14 Alabama lawmakers. Al.com. Retrieved on October 20, 2017.
