Calvin Ball III

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Calvin Ball III
10th County Executive of Howard County, Maryland
Incumbent
Assumed office December 3, 2018
Preceded by	Allan Kittleman
Councilman of Howard County (Representing District 2)
In office December 4, 2006 – December 3, 2018
Preceded by	David A. Rakes
Succeeded by	Opel Jones
Personal details
Born	(1975-09-02) September 2, 1975 (age 46) Catonsville, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Shani D. Ball
Children	2 daughters - – Alexis and Alyssa
Alma mater	Towson State University, B.A. University of Baltimore, M.A. Morgan State University, Ed.D.
Profession	Politician

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 won against incumbent Republican Allan Kittleman.^[3] He was sworn in as the new County Executive on December 3, 2018.

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, Dr. 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.

County Executive 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^[4] and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

As a resident of Columbia, Maryland, Ball served as a Howard County Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician. Committed to serving the community, 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 the Chamber's Workforce Readiness Committee.

Ball volunteered with the Howard County Public School System Leadership Task Force and Student Performance Review Committee. He has over eight years of experience in the field of higher education. Over the last six years, he has facilitated classes in subjects such as Critical Thinking, Ethics, and Political Science. In addition to instruction, he has assessed, trained and mentored new faculty members.

A certified mediator since 1998, 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, who serves as a Nurse Manager. They have two daughters who attend Howard County Public Schools.

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 2006, Ball introduced legislation regarding the goal of Howard County to provide housing for all income levels throughout the county. Ball encouraged developers to provide a full spectrum of affordable housing and give the County options to help create and preserve affordable housing in his proposal. His proposal included: providing preferences for those who work and reside in Howard County and establishing a right of first refusal for tenants and the County for the purchase of rental units when an owner offers the units for sale.

In July 2007, Ball introduced legislation, which required some county contractors to pay their workers at least $12.41 an hour. The proposal applied to contractors that had five or more workers and made at least $100,000 in business annually with Howard County. However, the legislation exempted nonprofit organizations doing business with the county. Ball said to the Washington Post that "the fiscal impact is quite negligible, but what it can do for a family is invaluable," and that the "Government is there to help people who may not be able to help themselves."

Ball was an early and active supporter of Barack Obama's campaign for President of the United States. He served as a member of the Maryland for Obama Statewide Steering Committee led by Congressman Elijah Cummings and Attorney General of Maryland Doug Gansler.

In 2014, then-Councilman Ball spearheaded legislation that created nutritional guidelines for food and drinks sold in government vending machines.^[5] The legislation required that 75 percent of food dispensed from vending machines meet minimum nutritional standards. The bill was vetoed by then-County Executive Allan Kittleman. His veto was overridden by the Howard County Council in 2015.^[6] In a 2019 editorial, the Baltimore Sun Editorial Board called the presence of healthy food in vending machines, “responsible stewardship.”^[7]

In 2016, then-Council Chairman Ball led negotiations with the Howard Hughes Corporation to ensure that the historic overhaul of Downtown Columbia included a broad range of public amenities, including hiring local, minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses, and funding for a new elementary school.^[8]

Campaign Finance[]

As a County Council Chair, Ball was a vocal proponent of Public Campaign Financing, voting in favor of placing the Citizen Election Fund charter amendment^[9] to the 2016 General Election Ballot. The ‘Yes on CR27-2016’^[10] and eventually the ‘Yes on Question A’ campaign garnered significant public support across the county. The Movement sparked the Fair Elections Howard,^[11] rooted in making a citizen-funded campaign system through public matching and encouraging residents to participate.

After the ballot measure passed, he voted in favor of establishing the small donor Citizens Election Fund System^[12] beginning in 2022 for candidates for County Council and County Executive.^[13] Although the measure was overridden by previous County Executive Allan Kittleman, Councilman Ball voted in favor of overriding the veto (4-1).^[14]

Howard County Executive[]

On November 7, 2018, Ball was elected as the first African American County Executive in Howard County history.^[3] On December 3, 2018, Ball was sworn into office, becoming the 10th Howard County Executive.^[15] In his speech, Ball remarked, “With our deeply rooted values of inclusion, equity, responsible stewardship of the earth, and prosperity for all, Howard County has the will and the ethos to be a beacon of hope and light shining brightly as a model of what America promises to be.”^[15]

Education[]

For fiscal year 2021 Ball’s operating budget funded Howard County Public Schools above maintenance of effort, with all education funding constituting more than 60% of the budget.^[16] His fiscal year 2021 capital budget also funded a new high school and other school renovations.^[17]

In September 2020, findings of audit of HCPSS requested by Ball affirmed several actions and improvements made by the County and HCPSS such as a multi-year plan to pay down the Health and Dental Fund deficit.

In April 2021, Ball announced in his Fiscal Year 2022 budget he would provide an additional $10M to Howard County Public Schools to eliminate the outstanding Health and Dental Fund deficit.

Environment[]

Within the first two months of his tenure, Ball committed Howard County to the “We Are Still In” declaration^[18] and made Howard County the first county in the nation to formally accept the United States Climate Alliance’s Natural and Working Lands Challenge, which calls on jurisdictions to reduce emissions and increase carbon sequestration.  

In 2020, Ball created and proposed the strongest forest conservation law in the State of Maryland^[19] to mitigate the loss of natural lands. Additionally, the Ball Administration has planted more than 50,000 trees since taking office, including giving away more than 4,000 trees for residents to plant on their property.

Ball has also prioritized developing and implementing Complete Streets, in conjunction with the recently passed WalkHoward^[20] and BikeHoward plan. There are currently 32 active bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects, 21 of which are scheduled for completion by 2022.

In 2020, Howard County government also entered into an innovative solar power purchasing agreement that would cover approximately 30 percent of the total annual electricity use for County government operations, at no capital cost to the County and providing a total anticipated cost benefit of $1.2 million over the 25 year life of the contract.  

Ellicott City[]

In December 2018, County Executive 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.^[21]

In April 2019, Ball presented five possible flood mitigation plans to the public and solicited public feedback on the plans.^[22] In May 2019, County Executive Ball selected a flood mitigation plan to spend between $113 million to $140 million on Ellicott City flood mitigation,^[23] a decision that earned the endorsement of The Baltimore Sun editorial board.^[24]

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.^[25]

In July 2020, the county unveiled the new draft of the Ellicott City Watershed Master Plan, which had been put on hold indefinitely by the previous administration. The Master Plan was passed by the Howard County Council in December 2020.

Within the Ball Administration, the Howard County Department of Public Works along with the Office of Emergency Management and Economic Development Authority continued progress and provided additional financial support toward flood mitigation and economic recovery of the town.

The Office of County Executive also assisted in the facilitation of positive national media engagements and assistance toward the town offered by celebrity Chef Gordan Ramsay 24 Hours to Hell and Back two hour special on Fox and mentorship and assistance from the entrepreneurs from Shark Tank through ABC’s Good Morning America.^[26][27]

In January 2021, Ball announced that the H7 dry flood mitigation pond was going out for bid.^[28] The county also announced in January that it had been selected to apply for federal WIFIA funding for the Ellicott City Safe and Sound projects.^[29]

COVID 19 Response[]

County Executive Ball led Howard County through the first global pandemic in centuries. On March 15, 2020, Howard County had its first case of COVID-19.^[30] Immediately, County Executive Ball established key measures to monitor PPE and testing supplies and also ensured that all the major COVID-19 case and hospitalization measures remained steady. Through his data-informed, people-driven approach to managing the crisis, Howard County's positivity rates and case rates were well below the state average.

As vaccine became available, Howard County was one of the most efficient jurisdictions to vaccinate residents, exhausting supply weekly. Data are shown in the Howard County COVID-19 Dashboard.^[31] County Executive Ball commissioned health, business, and community leaders and stakeholders to produce key recommendations for a safe reopening and released the HoCo Rise Collaborative Report one year after Howard County's first case of COVID-19.

Howard County became a regional leader in the fight against COVID-19 by implementing safe and efficient and while working with community partners to ensure equitable vaccine distribution.

Economy[]

Since taking office, County Executive Ball has prioritized Howard County’s economy and ensured small businesses can thrive. Through HoCo Rise Business Relief Grants, more than $20M in grants were awarded in several rounds of funding^[32] to more than 2,000 small businesses, farms, restaurants, hotels, to sustain our economy in the midst of COVID-19.

Under County Executive Ball, Howard County’s unemployment rate^[33] continues to decrease as the county recovers from the global COVID-19 pandemic. unemployment rate has continued to decrease from 7.5 percent at the peak of the pandemic in May 2020 to 4.5 percent as of March 2021. This is the lowest unemployment rate in the region and the 4th lowest in the state

Since 2018, County Executive Ball has doubled the number of firms registered and certified in the Local Business Initiative program, growing from 100 to 200 firms. In 2020, nearly $16.5 million in County funds were spent on projects with certified local business enterprises, an increase of 56 percent over Fiscal Year 2019.

Election history[]

Howard County Council District 2[]

^[34]

Howard County Executive[]

^[35]

Achievements[]

• Howard County Executive: 2018-
• Howard County Council Chairman: 2006-2017
• Zoning Board Chairman: 2007-2008
• Liquor Board Chairman: 2006-2007
• Daily Record's 2014 Very Important Professionals Successful by 40 Award
• William Donald Schaefer Helping People Award
• Louis L. Goldstein Award for Democratic Spirit
• Community Champion of the Year Award
• Spirit of Excellence Award, University of Baltimore
• Kittleman Award for Legislative Leadership, Howard County Association for Realtors, 2007
• Community Champion of the Year Award, Celebration Church, 2009
• Outstanding Volunteer Service Citation of Merit, Howard County Public School System, 2010
• Daily Record’s Very Important Professionals Successful by 40 Award, 2014
• Marilyn Praisner Public Service Award, Maryland Association of Counties, 2015
• Michaeline R. Fedder Public Health Legislator of the Year Award, Maryland Public Health Association, 2015
• Senator James Clark Award, 2018
• Omega Psi Phi, Citizen of the Year Award, 2019

References[]

1. "MSA Bio".
2. "Dist2_Bio".
3. "Calvin Ball LinkedIn Profile".