Calvin Ball III

Calvin B. Ball III (born September 2, 1975) is an American Democratic politician who serves as the county executive of Howard County, Maryland.[1] He is the first African-American to hold this office. On Thursday, November 9, 2017, Ball announced his candidacy for County Executive for the 2018 Election.[2] On November 7, 2018, Ball defeated incumbent Republican Allan Kittleman.[1] He was sworn in as the new County Executive on December 3, 2018.

"Calvin Ball" redirects here. For the fictional game, see Calvin and Hobbes § Calvinball.

Calvin Ball III
10th County Executive of Howard County, Maryland
Assumed office
December 3, 2018
Preceded byAllan Kittleman
Member, Howard County Council, 2nd district
In office
April 20, 2006 – December 3, 2018
Preceded byDavid A. Rakes
Succeeded byOpel Jones
Personal details
Born (1975-09-02) September 2, 1975
Catonsville, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseShani D. Ball
Children2 daughters
Alma materTowson State University, B.A.
University of Baltimore, M.A.
Morgan State University, Ed.D.
ProfessionPolitician
Signature

Prior to his County Executive position, he served as a Council Member of the 2nd District of Howard County, Maryland from April 2006 through December 2018. On December 4, 2006, Ball made Howard County history when he was elected the youngest Chairperson ever to lead the County Council, serving approximately 50,000 constituents. On December 6, 2010, he was unanimously elected to serve his second term as Chairperson of the County Council, and again on December 2, 2014, he was elected to his third term as Chairperson.

Ball serves as the Second Vice President of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo). He has also served on the executive board as treasurer of the organization. As a Council member, he founded the Diversity caucus, the first statewide caucus for County elected officials of color. MACo is a non-profit and non-partisan organization serving Maryland's 23 counties and Baltimore City.

Early life and education

Ball was born in Catonsville, Maryland, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religion from Towson State University, a Master of Arts in Legal and Ethical Studies from the University of Baltimore (where he was nominated for the Spirit of Excellence Award), and a Doctor of Education from Morgan State University. He is also a member of Kappa Delta Pi, an honor society in education[3] and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

As a resident of Columbia, Maryland, Ball served as a Howard County Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician. Additionally, he served three terms on the Oakland Mills Village Board and was a Community Organizer in Howard County, where he facilitated neighborhood revitalization. Ball was also a member of the Howard County Chamber of Commerce's Educator of the Year Committee and Chamber's Workforce Readiness Committee; as well as the Howard County Public School System Leadership Task Force and Student Performance Review Committee.

Ball has worked as a mediator for the Community Mediation Program and the Maryland State Human Relations Commission. He also served as a mediation supervisor for the Maryland Office of the Attorney General.

Personal life

Ball resides in the Village of Oakland Mills and is married to Shani D. Ball, R.N., B.S.N. They have two daughters.

Howard County Council

In April 2006, Ball was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Howard County Council to represent the 2nd Councilmanic District of Howard County. Ball retained the seat in the November election. He has been an active Democrat, serving two terms as President of the Young Democrats of Howard County.

In 2014, then-Councilman Ball initiated legislation that created nutritional guidelines for food and drinks sold in government vending machines.[4] The legislation required that 75 percent of food dispensed from vending machines meet minimum nutritional standards.

In 2016, then-Council Chairman Ball led negotiations with the Howard Hughes Corporation for a project aimed at overhauling Downtown Columbia. The plan centered around further public development as well as funding for a new elementary school.[5]

Howard County Executive

On November 7, 2018, Ball was elected as the first African American County Executive in Howard County history.[1] On December 3, 2018, Ball was sworn into office, becoming the 10th Howard County Executive.[6]

Environment

During his tenure, Ball committed Howard County to following the tenants of the Paris Climate Accords.[7]

In 2020, Ball proposed forest conservation legislation aimed at mitigating the loss of natural lands.

Ellicott City

In December 2018, Ball Launched his "Safe and Sound" plan to address flooding in Ellicott City, improve public safety, and support local businesses. As part of his announcement, Ball announced several initiatives aimed at protecting public safety, including an outdoor tone alert system and a program to clean the waterways in and around Ellicott City more frequently.[8] In April 2019, Ball presented five possible flood mitigation plans to the public and solicited public feedback on the plans.[9] In May 2019, County Executive Ball selected a flood mitigation plan to spend between $113 million to $140 million on Ellicott City flood mitigation,[10] a decision that earned the endorsement of The Baltimore Sun editorial board.[11] In March 2020, Howard County announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had completed a review of the flood mitigation plan and found that the county was following a sound process, and that the selected plan should reduce flooding concerns in Ellicott City.[12]

Controversies

In 2019, the Howard County Ethics Commission initiated an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing related to improper use of the "county seal for political gain".[13] According to The Baltimore Sun,

"At issue is a 2015 video posted to Ball’s political Facebook page in which the then-county councilman explains his commitment to the Democratic Party while standing in front of the Howard County seal in a hearing room in the George Howard Building in Ellicott City. A county law passed in 2004 makes it illegal for government officials to use the county seal for "any political purpose" including, but not limited to, mailers and handouts."

Election history
Howard County Council District 2 election results[14]
YearWinnerOpponent
2006Calvin Ball (D), Votes: 9,907Gina Gabrielle Ellrich, Votes: 6,638
2010Calvin Ball (D), Votes: 11,707Reg Avery, Votes: 5,592
2014Calvin Ball (D), Votes: 11,380Ralph Colavita, Votes: 7,369
Howard County Executive election results[15][16]
YearWinnerOpponent
2018Calvin Ball (D), Votes: 75,566Allan H. Kittleman, Votes: 67,457
2022Calvin Ball (D), Votes: 76,947Allan H. Kittleman, Votes: 53,162

References
  1. Logan, Erin B. (November 7, 2018). "Democrat Ball defeats incumbent Howard County executive Kittleman". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 18, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  2. Magill, Kate (November 9, 2017). "Councilman Calvin Ball enters race for Howard County Executive". Columbia Flier. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  3. "Calvin B. Ball, County Executive, Howard County, Maryland". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. December 9, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  4. Yeager, Amanda; Cohn, Meredith (July 31, 2015). "Get your carrots, not cookies, from Howard County's vending machines". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  5. Waseem, Fatimah (November 9, 2016). "Howard County Council approves historic overhaul for downtown Columbia development". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on September 19, 2019.
  6. "Dr. Calvin Ball Sworn-In as the 10th Howard County Executive". Howard County, Maryland. December 4, 2018. Archived from the original on January 23, 2019.
  7. Logan, Erin B. (November 9, 2016). "Howard County joins Paris Agreement on climate change, commits to renewable energy goals". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021.
  8. Nocera, Jess (December 27, 2018). "Howard County executive says county will acquire, then assess Ellicott City properties". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019.
  9. Ryan, Kate (April 17, 2019). "Howard Co. announces latest plans to deal with Ellicott City flooding". WTOP-FM.
  10. DePuyt, Bruce (May 13, 2019). "Ball Unapologetic About Investment Plan to Reduce Flood Risk in Ellicott City". Maryland Matters.
  11. "Is Calvin Ball's Ellicott City flood mitigation plan worth the cost?". The Baltimore Sun. May 17, 2019. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019.
  12. Herring, Vanessa (March 10, 2020). "Ellicott City flood mitigation plans get green light". WBAL-TV.
  13. Logan, Erin B. (September 13, 2019). "Howard Executive Calvin Ball faces allegations of illegally using county seal in video". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  14. "Howard County Council > About Us > Council History > Election History". Howard County Council Home. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  15. "2018 Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  16. "2022 Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  1. "MSA Bio".
  2. "Dist2_Bio".
  3. "Calvin Ball LinkedIn Profile".
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