Hershman to leave Senate for position with Barnes

Indiana Sen. Brandt Hershman has announced he is resigning his position as Senate majority floor leader to take a position with Barnes & Thornburg, LLP.

The Republican senator from Buck Creek announced Friday he will resign effective Jan. 2, one day before the legislature reconvenes for the 2018 session. Hershman has served since 2000, focusing his tenure in the statehouse on tax reform and other economic development issues. Upon his departure from the statehouse, Hershman will serve as a practicing attorney in Barnes’ D.C. office.

“Throughout my tenure, I have focused on making sure Hoosiers are getting the best and most efficient government services for the smallest cost,” Hershman, who is the chair of the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, said in a Friday statement. “It’s been a privilege to work alongside so many dedicated public servants to help enact meaningful conservative reforms that have made our state the fiscal envy of the nation.”

Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, who was Hershman’s mentor when he first came to the Senate, praised the departing senator as “one of the brightest, most accomplished individuals (he’s) ever known.”

“He is leaving the Senate with a record that few others in the history of the Indiana State Legislature can match,” Long said in a statement. “His legacy as a national leader on such state issues as tax reform, telecom reform, and as a strong and consistent advocate for agricultural community speaks for itself. I will miss his wise counsel; his terrific sense of humor; his ability to speak effectively and persuasively on most any subject; but most of all, I will miss my friend.”

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, also praised Hershman for his “command of tax and fiscal policy along with his prowess on technology and communications issues… .”

Hershman began his professional career as a newspaper reporter, then transitioned into a writing job in the George H.W. Bush administration. He then returned to Indiana to work on congressional staffs and campaigns, and eventually chose to enroll in the night school program at the Robert H. McKinney School of Law while also serving as a senator. After graduating in 2009, Hershman credited his legal training with his ability to better understand the judicial implications of legislative decisions.