Gov. Mike Braun's brand new IEDC board includes several large campaign donors

Indianapolis Star

3 hours ago

When Gov. Mike Braun replaced the entire board of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., he gave some of the spots to large donors.
His firing of the previous eight board members June 23 is in keeping with Braun's efforts to cut ties with the previous administration and overhaul the beleaguered quasi-state agency that has caught criticism over transparency concerns. Indeed, he has a very different vision for the IEDC: While former Gov. Eric Holcomb's board brokered large high-tech industry deals with companies from outside Indiana, Braun wants to turn the IEDC's attention more toward homegrown, small- to-mid-size "Main Street" businesses.
But he differs from his predecessor in another way: Of Braun's nine new appointees, several gave significant sums to his gubernatorial campaign, totaling more than a quarter million dollars.
This board reviews and approves billions of dollars worth of economic development projects, investment awards, loans and grants.
While some, including Braun, see campaign donations as a nonfactor in appointments like this ― one argument being that it's natural for Braun to pick people he knows to be on such a board, and people he knows are likely to support him ― others concerned with government ethics find the whole setup concerning.
It gives an appearance of pay to play, which is "fundamentally problematic," said Abraham Schwab, psychology chair at Purdue University Fort Wayne.
"It's possible that this is a happenstance ... but that seems unlikely," he said.
Braun said campaign donations did not figure into his decision on appointments. Indiana business executives, among whom Braun counts himself, supported him heavily in the election, and it also is the case that he wanted to pick entrepreneurs for this board.
"I pick the people that I've known to be the most entrepreneurial, and when you're mostly supported by them, I'm not going to go after the standard cardboard cutout that would normally get on boards," he told reporters following the first quarterly meeting of his new board. "I'm looking for people that are going to be transformational. I've been clear that on economic development, I'm going to fertilize the field of small businesses and entrepreneurs.
He added that he plans to appoint some additional new members. By Indiana law, the governor chairs the IEDC board and can appoint up to 14 board members, at least three of whom must be Democrats.
Catch up: Braun overhauls IEDC board, appoints well-known Democrat, over displeasure with state agency
Collectively, five of Braun's new appointees had given about $263,000 to his gubernatorial campaign and another $16,650 to his Senate coffers.
Other new board members include former Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Greggl Terre Haute entrepreneur Greg Gibson; Don Lamb, director of the state Department of Agriculture; and David Fagan of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.
None of this shocks outgoing board member Mark Miles, the CEO of IndyCar and Penske Entertainment.
It makes sense that Braun would look around among the people he knows in the business world to lead such a board, and also that people he knows in this world could have supported him in his race.
"You would hope to fill boards with people you know and who have the skillset," he said. "In my mind someone would be crazy to make a donation to be on the IEDC board, which is unpaid."
Previous IEDC board members did not, at least under their own names, give in nearly comparable sums to the two previous governors.
Even if this isn't quid pro quo, it's an example worth noting of the power of money and relationships at this level, said Laura Wilson, politics professor at the University of Indianapolis. It makes sense to her, given the politicization of this agency, that Braun would want to choose some supporters.
"The IEDC's been a political football for over 12 months," she said. "It's not just an innocuous small board on the periphery that no one's ever heard of."
Even if this seems like the norm, that doesn't make the norm ethically sound, Schwab said. It not only gives the appearance that this administration may reward people who give during campaign season, he said, but raises the question of whether the board's decisions will be in the public's interest or Braun's.
"Anybody who might challenge Braun's views on economic development," he said, "we get rid of them so we can have a bunch of 'yes' people."