Menu
Proposed District 44 would encompass much of Montgomery County as well
The announced retirement of a West Central Indiana state representative will keep two current representatives from facing off in the 2022 primary election.
Under the proposed map for the Indiana House of Representatives unveiled Tuesday by state Republicans, District 44 Rep. Beau Baird (R-Greencastle) and District 41 Rep. Tim Brown (R-Crawfordsville) would find themselves in the same district beginning with the 2022 election.
However, Brown has announced he will not seek an additional term after 2022.
“After 28 years of public service, I will not be seeking re-election in 2022,” Brown told the Banner Graphic. “As I prepare to move on to the next chapter, I want to thank the people in House District 41 for giving me the opportunity to represent them at the Statehouse, and I appreciate their support throughout the years.
“Serving as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives has been a true honor.”
Besides his long tenure in the House, Brown has also spent the last eight years as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, a fact not lost on Baird.
“It really is a little bit strange to be drawn into the same district as the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee,” he said.
With or without Brown, Baird says he looks forward to the chance to seek the District 44 seat again, regardless of the shape of the district or others in the race.
“I absolutely will ask to represent the district again, along with whomever else might run. That’s just part of democracy,” Baird said.
The new district, which is only a draft at this point, is quite a shift from that which the two-term representative and his father (now Congressman) Jim Baird before him have presided over for the last 10 years.
While all of Putnam County would remain intact, gone would be the portions of Parke, Clay, Owen and Morgan counties that have also been part of the district.
In their place would be six of the 11 Montgomery County townships — Madison, Wayne, Union, Ripley, Brown and Scott to be specific.
Baird expressed his gratitude at being able to represent the current District 44 while also noting the disparate needs of the communities it encompasses..
“I really have enjoyed representing the current House District 44,” Baird said. “When you look at West Central Indiana as a whole, the values are the same.
“However, there are stark differences in the needs of the communities around Raccoon Lake compared to Monrovia,” he added. “Likewise, Russellville, Roachdale and Bainbridge are very different communities from Quincy, Poland and Paragon.”
Baird went on to note the shared qualities of small towns in Putnam and Montgomery counties.
“While I truly enjoyed representing them, I believe the new district would make it easier to align the needs of the communities,” Baird said. “Places like Waynetown, Linden and Waveland have a lot in common with towns line Bainbridge, Roachdale and Russellville. I think there are some really good benefits for whomever represents the new district.”
The similarities of Greencastle and Crawfordsville should also be noted. Each is a small city at the center of the county in which a liberal arts school — DePauw University and Wabash College, respectively — provides some slightly different demographics than much of rural Indiana.
Among those 16,000 residents of Crawfordsville is longtime House staple Brown.
Under the proposal, Brown’s current District 41 would shift eastward, encompassing most of Clinton and Boone counties, a swath of Tippecanoe and a single township in northeastern Montgomery County.
In spite of being drawn solely by Republicans, the proposed map draws six districts that include two current GOP representatives.
Others include Rep. Curt Nisly (R-Milford) in a district with Rep. Craig Snow (R-Warsaw); Rep. Doug Gutwein (R-Francesville) in a district with Rep. Don Lehe (R-Brookston); Rep. Sean Eberhart (R-Shelbyville) in a district with Rep. John Young (R-Franklin); and Rep. Steve Davisson (R-Salem) in a district with Rep. Jim Lucas (R-Seymour).
Not even House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) is safe in the proposal, as he finds himself in a district with Rep. Tony Cook (R-Cicero).
No proposed maps have been released for the 50 State Senate districts, though they are due next week. The current map divides Punam County, and even the City of Greencastle, in two, with the northern part in District 24 with Sen. John Crane (R-Avon) and the southern portion in District 37 with President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville).
Statewide, much of the attention on the redistricting process has been on the state’s U.S. congressional districts. However, Congressman Jim Baird (R-Greencastle) would see minimal shifts to his Fourth District under the drafted proposal.
Mainly, the Fourth District would lose portions of Fountain, Howard and Cass counties while gaining the remainder of Morgan County, much of which had previously been in the Ninth District.
While the proposals are only considered drafts at this point, the Republican supermajority in both houses of the Indiana General Assembly means the GOP has complete control of the process. This makes serious changes to the current draft appear unlikely.
