Greg Ball Set to Brawl with Hall Next Fall

On the patio of Murphy's restaurant in Yorktown, Republican Assemblyman Greg Ball kicked off his campaign to unseat Congressman John Hall. "I'm running to bring a voice for reform and change," he said to a packed audience.

"This race is not about John Hall," Ball said. "He may have been a rock star in the past but he is not a rock star today." Instead, Ball said his campaign was "about restoring the American promise" for people "who work hard and play by the rules." Ball assailed President Obama and Speaker Pelosi for presiding over "a government that is using business to expand government."

But Ball sent out signals that he is not simply a partisan Republican. "We have seen an unprecedented expansion of government, and let me be the first to say, both under Bush and President Obama. This campaign is not simply about Republicans versus Democrats … We're going to welcome folks from all parties," he said. Ball entered the event carrying a dog-eared copy of Ross Perot's book, United We Stand, under his arm. He even invoked Perot during his speech, saying that the 1994 Republican revolution only happened when, "Gingrich took the thunder of the movement Perot started and put it in the Republican Party."

In keeping with his influences, Ball said he wanted to re-examine trade agreements and stand up for working class families in the district and in the country. "Blue collar folks are struggling as an all out assault on the middle class continues to threaten the American promise," Ball said. He decried regulatory policies and high taxes that had "people voting with their feet" and leaving New York for states like North Carolina.

Ball is best known for his get-tough stance on immigration. His 2006 campaign signs read, "Illegal Immigration is Illegal." Running for a seat on Capitol Hill, Ball still emphasized the need for a secure border. But he stated that he was in favor of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants that included, "paying taxes, learning the language, and becoming an American citizen." Ball decried the exploitation of illegal aliens as a "modern day slave economy" and said, "I will fight night and day to restore America's promise to our immigrants, and open up this country legally to legal immigration."

Ball made his rousing call for "reform" the center of his speech, thundering, "This is our moment. This is our time. This is our country and it is worth fighting for." If his speech is a preview of the campaign he will run, voters can expect Ball to be populist and conservative in style, but independent and nonpartisan in content. Father Tom Lutz of Sacred Heart Church in Patterson reminded the crowd, "Remember, all the great reform movements that began in this country, began in taverns and pubs."