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Last week, Gov.-elect Mike Braun’s transition team announced a dozen panels—which he has labeled councils—assigned to vet state agencies and develop recommendations, so his administration can hit the ground running in January.
His councils touch on several key agencies, such as education and transportation, as well as his campaign issues, including government efficiency and business affairs.
Of the 147 people Braun chose to serve on his 12 transition councils, one in three are private-sector business leaders and two in three have not previously worked in state government, an IBJ analysis found.
“To build an effective government that serves all Hoosier residents, we need the best minds and most experienced leaders at the table,” Braun said in his news release.
More than a third of Braun’s appointments currently work in or predominantly have worked in the private sector (not including lobbyists and people who work for law firms). Businesspeople fill out the commerce and business affairs councils as expected but also have a strong presence on the health, energy and natural resources, budget and transportation teams.
Many of the businesspeople are assigned to a team that matches their industry. For example, the energy and natural resources team includes Duke Energy’s state director, a Citizens Energy vice president and several other private sector leaders.
The second-most represented occupation is lawyers with at least 30. Many work for the firms Bose McKinney & Evans, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Faegre Drinker and Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.
With the exception of the lieutenant governor and transportation councils, each team has at least two lawyers assigned to it. The teams with the most attorneys are constituent services and efficiency and modernization.
Nonprofit leaders, lobbyists and lawyers fill out the bulk of the education council led by Secretary of Education Katie Jenner. School choice advocates have a strong presence, with representatives from Hoosiers for Quality Education, EdChoice and a South Bend charter school system.
Three mayors are on the local and municipal team: Chris Jensen of Noblesville, Tom Dermody of La Porte and Matt Gentry of Lebanon. Kendallville Mayor Lance Waters, a former police chief, serves on the public safety committee.
The councils also feature four medical doctors, five members of law enforcement, two pastors and more than two dozen lobbyists.
Dovetailing with Braun’s brand as a political outsider, more than two-thirds of the people on the councils have not worked in state government.
Of those who had worked in state government, most did so under former Gov. Mitch Daniels and Gov. Eric Holcomb with at least 25 and 23, respectively. Nineteen also worked for former Gov. Mike Pence during his one term. Five logged hours during the administrations of Robert Orr, Evan Bayh, Frank O’Bannon and or Joseph Kernan.
Braun’s transition team—the group overseeing the councils—also includes several people who served as key leaders in the Daniels administration.
The transition team includes several former chiefs of staff, general counsels and advisors to Daniels, Pence and Holcomb, including Lawren Mills, senior policy director and legislative director to Daniels, and Marilee Springer, Pence’s deputy chief of staff and senior policy director.
The Indiana Lawyer has a more detailed look at the four attorneys on the transition team.
Many of the people serving on the councils at one time worked for state offices, agencies and departments, including the Indiana Economic Development Corp., the Office of Financial Management and the Department of Transportation. Tera Klutz, a former state auditor, leads the management and budget council.
Former members of the General Assembly have also been called on to help, including former Sens. Brandt Hershman (2000-2018) and Jon Ford (2014-2023) and former Reps. Matt Ubelhor (2010-2015), Lloyd Arnold (2012-2017) and Rep. Mike Speedy (2010-2024).
Just about a hundred of Braun’s picks live or work in and around Indianapolis. Terre Haute and Valparaiso also emerged as smaller hot spots with five and four members, respectively. Braun’s hometown of Jasper has two representatives, including former Mayor Terry Seitz.
Taylor Wooten contributed reporting to this story.
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