Rod Bray
President pro tempore of the Indiana Senate
Assumed office
November 7, 2018
Preceded byDavid C. Long
Majority Leader of the Indiana Senate
In office
January 2, 2018 – November 7, 2018
Preceded byBrandt Hershman
Succeeded byMark Messmer
Member of the Indiana Senate
from the 37th district
Assumed office
November 20, 2012
Preceded byRichard Bray
City Attorney for Martinsville
In office
2003–2007
Appointed byShannon Buskirk
Preceded byRobert St. Clair
Succeeded byRoger Coffin
Personal details
Born1969 (age 54–55)
Martinsville, Indiana, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKelly
Children2
RelativesRichard Bray (Father)
William G. Bray (Grandfather)
EducationIndiana University, Bloomington (BA)
Valparaiso University (JD)
WebsiteState Senate website
Campaign website

Rodric D. "Rod" Bray (born 1969) is an American politician from Indiana. A member of the Republican Party, Bray has been a member of the Indiana State Senate since 2012, representing the 37th state Senate district, which comprises all of Morgan County and a portion of Johnson, Owen and Putnam counties.

Early life and education

Rodric was born to Maurine D. (née Sweet) and Richard Bray in 1969.[1] His father, Richard, served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1974 to 1992 and in the Indiana Senate from to 1994 to 2012, where he was the Assistant Majority Caucus Chair.[2] His grandfather William G. Bray was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1951 to 1975, representing Indiana's 6th and 7th congressional districts.[3]

Bray is a graduate of Martinsville High School.[4] He attended Indiana University Bloomington, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in History in 1991.[5] Bray also attended Valparaiso University, where he graduated with his Juris Doctor from the Valparaiso University School of Law in 1994.[4]

Early career

Bray was a deputy prosecuting attorney in Morgan County, Indiana until 1997.[6] He then entered private practice, where he was an attorney with Harris & Currens, and was elected Chairman of the Morgan County Republican Party on August 18, 1998, after the incumbent party chair, Joan Gray, resigned.[7][6] He served as chair until March 2005.[8] He was succeeded by Martin Weaver as County Party Chair.[9]

On August 18, 2003, Bray was appointed city attorney of Martinsville by Mayor Shannon Buskirk, after the death of incumbent Robert St. Clair.[10] Bray served as city attorney until 2007.[11] He was succeeded by Roger Coffin as City Attorney.[12][13]

After serving as city attorney, Bray became a member of the Morgan County Election Board and the general counsel to the Martinsville Plan Commission and Board of Zoning.[6] Bray has also served on the board of directors for Home Bank since 2008.[6]

Indiana State Senate

After his father Richard decided to retire from the Indiana State Senate after five terms, Rodric Bray declared his candidacy for Indiana's 37th State Senate district, officially filing to run on January 24, 2012.[14] Bray faced insurance agent and Morgan County Councilman Ryan Goodwin in the Republican primary.[15] Bray defeated Goodwin 10,115 votes (54.8%) to 8,333 votes (46.2%), in the May 8, 2012 Republican primary.[16] Bray went on to face Democratic nominee Jim Cahill, a cement truck driver and Teamsters local president, in the general election. Bray prevailed in the November 6 general election with 36,959 votes (71.2%) to Cahill's votes 14,947 (28.8%).[16] Bray was sworn into office on November 20, 2012, by Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court Brent Dickson.[17] Bray's district includes all of Morgan County and parts of Johnson, Owen and Putnam counties.[18]

Bray is a member of the Senate committees on Corrections and Criminal Law, Health and Provider Services, Local Government, and Utilities.[19]

In January 2018, Senate Republicans elected Bray Senate majority leader, after Brandt Hershman retired.[20] In May 2018, Senate Republicans preliminary elected[21] Bray to the post of Senate president pro tempore and Mark Messmer to replace Bray as Senate Majority Leader.[21][22][23] In the caucus balloting, Bray reportedly won by a single vote over Travis Holdman.[21] Bray was officially elected and took office in November 2018, at the opening of the legislative session.[24] The Republicans enjoy a two-thirds supermajority in both the state House and state Senate.[24][25]

As Senate president pro tem, Bray opposed proposals to legalize marijuana in Indiana.[26] He resisted calls for an increase in schoolteacher pay.[27] In 2019, Bray supported a hate crimes bill that provided that judges could considered "bias" in sentencing; with Bray's support, a majority of Senate Republicans had amended the proposal to strip a list of protected victim traits from the original bill, including race, sexual orientation, and gender identity, from the bill, drawing criticism from Democrats, some Republican legislators, Republican Governor Eric Holcomb, and civil rights advocates.[28]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indiana, Bray sent a letter to Indiana school leaders, saying that public schools that did not offer an in-person education option (as opposed to virtual education) risked major cuts in state funding, which could amount to millions of dollars, depending on the student population of the school district.[25][29][30]

Personal life

Bray currently resides in Martinsville, Indiana with his wife, Kelly, and their two sons.[31] Bray attends the First United Methodist Church of Martinsville, where he serves as a member of the Pastor Parish Committee and is a Sunday school teacher.[19]

References

  1. ^ Indiana General Assembly. "Second Regular Session 117th General Assembly (2012) SENATE RESOLUTION". in.gov.
  2. ^ "Biographies of Indiana Legislators BRAY, RICHARD D." bowenprojects.org. February 11, 2014.
  3. ^ United States Congress (February 11, 2014). "BRAY, William Gilmer, (1903 - 1979)". congress.gov.
  4. ^ a b Indiana General Assembly (April 11, 2013). "Martinsville High School Academic Decathlon winners honored at Statehouse". in.gov.
  5. ^ University of California (February 11, 2014). "Sen. Rodric Bray (R-IN 37th District)". ucforcalifornia.org.
  6. ^ a b c d "Indiana Election 2012: Rodric Bray". Indiana Public Media. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13.
  7. ^ Smith, Bruce C. "GOP leaders pick Rod Bray as the county's new chairman", The Indianapolis Star, August 20, 1998, page 10.
  8. ^ Lange, Tom. "2 seek GOP's senate District 37 nomination", Franklin Daily Journal, April 11, 2012, page A3.
  9. ^ "Across Our Region; Morgan County: County GOP elects Weaver to be new party leader", The Indianapolis Star, March 21, 2005, page B2.
  10. ^ "Buskirk taps Bray as city attorney". Martinsville Reporter-Times. August 18, 2003.
  11. ^ Bette Nunn; Martinsville Reporter-Times (October 5, 2012). "Foley, Bray end terms". reporter-times.com.
  12. ^ "City of Martinsville, Indiana". www.martinsville.in.gov. Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  13. ^ "City of Martinsville, Indiana". www.martinsville.in.gov. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  14. ^ Office of the Secretary of State of Indiana (January 27, 2012). "May 8, 2012 Primary Election" (PDF). in.gov.
  15. ^ "Goodwin seeking GOP nomination in Senate District 37". Greencastle Banner-Graphic. January 25, 2012.
  16. ^ a b Office of the Secretary of State of Indiana (June 5, 2012). "ELECTION RESULTS: Indiana Primary Election, May 8, 2012". in.gov.
  17. ^ Molly Johnson (November 20, 2012). "Rodric Bray Sworn in as New State Senator for District 37". Indiana General Assembly.
  18. ^ "Indiana State Senate 2011 Adopted Districts" (PDF). Indiana General Assembly. 2011.
  19. ^ a b Project Vote Smart (2014). "Rodric Bray's Biography". votesmart.org.
  20. ^ Senate Republicans Make Leadership Changes, Inside INdiana (January 2, 2018).
  21. ^ a b c Brian A. Howey, Bray completes Senate power transition, Howey Politics Indiana, Vol. 23, No. 37 (May 17, 2018).
  22. ^ Indiana Senate Republicans select Bray as new leader, Associated Press (May 14, 2018).
  23. ^ Lindsey Erdody, Martinsville's Rodric Bray to succeed David Long as leader of Indiana Senate, Indianapolis Business Journal (May 14, 2018)
  24. ^ a b Tom Davies, Indiana Senate’s 1st new leader in 12 years showing caution, Associated Press (November 20, 2018).
  25. ^ a b Arika Herron, Despite prior assurances, schools may see funding cuts. Here's what we know., Indianapolis Star (August 7, 2020).
  26. ^ Tom Davies, Indiana resisting marijuana trend of neighboring states Associated Press (December 14, 2019).
  27. ^ Thousands Of Teachers Rally At The Statehouse At 'Red For Ed' Action Day, Indiana Public Broadcasting (November 19, 2019).
  28. ^
  29. ^ Sen. Rod Bray: Schools not offering in-person instruction risk, Indianapolis Star (August 7, 2020).
  30. ^ Casey Smith, Indiana Senate leader warns less funding for schools online, Associated Press (August 7, 2020).
  31. ^ Spencer Evening World (October 18, 2012). "Newcomers Bray, Cahill Vying For Indiana Senate District 37" (PDF). spencereveningworld.com.

External links

Indiana Senate Preceded byRichard Bray Member of the Indiana Senatefrom the 37th district 2012–present Incumbent Preceded byBrandt Hershman Majority Leader of the Indiana Senate 2018 Succeeded byMark Messmer Preceded byDavid C. Long President pro tempore of the Indiana Senate 2018–present Incumbent
Statewide elected officials and legislative leaders of Indiana
Presidents of state senates
Members of the Indiana Senate
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