He attended Marquette University, studying political science; he was a cheerleader, and in 1922 won a medal for "proficiency in debate".
He was first elected to the Assembly's 3rd Milwaukee County district in 1932, at which time he was in the real estate business, unseating Republican incumbent Allen Busby.
He received 7,728 votes; Busby 5,234; Socialist Frank Puncer 3,757, and independent Grace Brown 165.
He ran as a write-in candidate for his Assembly seat, but lost to William Luebke, the Progressive was defeated two years before, with Balzer coming in a distant fourth in a five-way race.
He was elected once more in 1954 from the newly created 21st Milwaukee County Assembly district (the 3rd Ward of West Allis, the Town of Wauwatosa, and the 7th and 8th Wards of the City of Wauwatosa) as a Democrat, defeating former Republican Assemblyman Louis Hicks.