City of Akron, Office of the Mayor, John S. Ballard Records 1966-1979

Inventory of the City of Akron, Office of the Mayor, John S. Ballard Records 1966-1979



Title:	City of Akron, Office of the Mayor, John S. Ballard Records 1966-1979
Repository:	Archives and Special Collections, University Libraries, The University of Akron Phone: 330-972-7670 http://www.uakron.edu/libraries/archives
Creator:	Akron (Ohio). Mayor ( 1966-1979): Ballard
Dates:	1966-1979
Bulk dates:	1954-1979
Quantity:	116.0 cubic feet (69 record storage boxes, 1 document case and 29 25)
Abstract:	These are the records of John S. Ballard, the Mayor of Akron from 1966 through 1979. It includes office subject files, boards and commissions, urban aid programs, and scrapbooks documenting his administration.
Identification:	99/77
Location:	Archival Services, Polsky Building, LL-10
Language:	The records are in English
Sample Image:	City of Akron, Office of the Mayor, John S. Ballard Records, 1966-1979

Biography of Mayor John S. Ballard

John S. Ballard served as Mayor of the City of Akron from 1966 to 1979. He was born in Akron, Ohio on September 30, 1922 and graduated from the University of Akron in 1943. He served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army from 1943 through 1946. Ballard received a law degree from the University of Michigan in 1948 and went on to serve as a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation until 1952. He returned to Akron to open a private law practice. Soon he reentered public service and became the Assistant City Law Director. In 1955 Ballard was appointed to assist a court-ordered investigation of gambling in Summit County. Following a successful investigation, he ran for the office of Summit County Prosecuting Attorney and became the first Republican elected to that position in twenty years. He served in that capacity until 1964 when he resigned in order to pursue his private law practice. The following year he was enlisted by the Republican Party to be their candidate for Mayor of the City of Akron.

His candidacy was successful and he was elected mayor by more than 20,000 votes, in spite of the fact that the city has a greater than two to one majority of Democrat Party members. John Ballard was reelected in 1967, 1971, and 1975 to become up to that point the city's longest serving mayor. During those fourteen years, he had to contend with the problems and turmoil which befell all the nations cities. Specifically, Akron was plagued with intercity decay, loss of industry to the sun-belt, increase in unemployment, migration of residents to the suburbs and decreases in tax revenues while financial obligations increased. The fact that he remained mayor longer than anyone else up to that time, and during a period of such major social changes, provides an indication to his dedication and determination.

He was a strong supporter of urban renewal and saw it as the key to revitalization of the downtown area. Such projects as the Superblock Developments, Cascade Plaza and Opportunity Park were developed and implemented during his administration. However, in spite of his enthusiasm for downtown development, Mayor Ballard encountered many frustrations. At the time he was disappointed in what he referred to as the "glacial progress" of urban renewal projects. Moreover, the trend towards suburban shopping malls, which severely hurt the downtown's retail business, was particularly disheartening. Yet, the city has retained a large base of professional workers in the downtown area, and in recent years the retail trade has stabilized and in some respects improved.

Scope and Content

This collection of records from the Administration of John S. Ballard, Mayor of Akron, Ohio from 1966 to 1979 covers a range of topics relating to the government of Akron. It is divided into six series including Office Subject Files, Lawsuits, Boards and Commissions, Existing Boards and Commissions, Urban Aid Programs, and the Mayor's Scrapbooks. Each series is arranged alphabetically by the folder title and then chronologically. The items within each folder are arranged chronologically.

Of interest in this collection are the records relating to the operation of the city including the budgets, capitol improvements, and executive orders. Also of note are special interest topics such as the civil disturbances of the late 1960's, the urban aid programs, and the correspondence resulting from Akron's Abortion Ordinance.

The last box in the collection is restricted as it contains personal information of city employees. Where practical these documents were photocopied with the restricted information redacted and the copy left in the original folder location

Statement of Arrangement

Series I: Office Subject Files (1966-1979) Series I: Office Subject files are the general office files that Ballard and his staff used and maintained. This series contains important records of city administration such as executive orders, police-community relations, and various department records. There are also records of a more personal nature such as correspondence with community members, other politicians and speech material. Series II: Lawsuits This small series consists of records of lawsuits that concerned Ballard, the Mayor's Office and/or the City of Akron. Series III: Boards and Commissions (1967-1977) This series includes files of the Boards and Commissions that were appointed by Mayor Ballard. They demonstrate many of the issues that were important to Akron at that time including police-community relations, urban development, planning, parks and recreation, emergency medical services, Senior Citizen's Advisory Committee, housing and health. Series IV: Existing Boards and Commissions (1954-1965) Series IV: is composed of material from Boards and Commissions that were in existence prior to Mayor Ballard's administration. This series demonstrates some of the issues that were of concern to Akron before the Ballard administration and the continuity maintained from the previous administrations of Leo A. Berg (1954-1961) and Edward O. Erickson (1962-1965) through to Ballard. Series V: Urban Aid Programs This series is divided into two sub-series: The Community Action Council and the Model Cities Program. The Community Action Council grew out of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to help the unemployed and under employed and their families. The Model Cities Program grew out of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966, part of Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty. Series VI: Mayor's Scrapbooks (1966-1978) This series consists of 29 scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings that relate to the Ballard administration.

Restrictions on Use

No access restrictions except box 70. Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron

Restrictions on Access

No restrictions on access; except not available through interlibrary loan.

Related Material: Related Material

City of Akron, Office of the Mayor, Roy L. Ray Records, 1980-1984 City of Akron, Office of the Mayor, Thomas C. Sawyer Records, 1983-1986

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Akron, Ohio - History-20th century

Akron, Ohio - Politics and Government - 20th Century

Community development - Ohio--Akron

Mayors - Ohio - Akron

Persons:

Ballard, John S., 1922-

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], City of Akron, Office of the Mayor, John S. Ballard Records, Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.

Acquisition Information

John S. Ballard donated this material to the University of Akron Archival Services in November of 1979.

Processing Information

Processed by Archival Services Staff. Reprocessed by Mark Bloom, Library Research Assistant, 2009