Davis named district director

Former state representative Bill Davis has taken a new job.
Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-3rd District, announced Thursday that Davis will become his new district director. The change is expected to take place after Labor Day.
Davis, who was first elected to the Indiana House in 2004 and represented Jay County as well as Randolph County and part of Delaware County, succeeds Indiana State Sen. Carlin Yoder, R-Middlebury.
Yoder is taking a job with Lippert Components Inc. in Elkhart, a supplier for the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industry. Yoder has been commuting from his home in Middlebury to Stutzman’s Fort Wayne office and found the travel to be a problem.
“Marlin and I go way back,” Davis said this morning. He and Stutzman served in the Indiana House together and at one point shared an apartment in Indianapolis. “We’re good friends.”
Davis resigned from the House in 2013 to become executive director of the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and Greg Beumer was then selected by a Republican caucus to take his place. He and his wife, Mary, moved from Portland to Fort Wayne at the time to be closer to their children and grandchildren. He resigned from the OCRA position earlier this year after finding that the travel to and from Indianapolis was becoming a burden.
“I just can’t keep a job can I?” Davis joked this morning.
Stutzman is not seeking re-election to the U.S. House in 2016 but is among four Republican candidates who are seeking the open U.S. Senate seat that will become available with the retirement of current Sen. Dan Coats. Two Democrats have also announced for the Senate seat.
Davis also serves as vice-chairman for the Republican Party in the 3rd District, which includes parts of 12 Indiana counties. Yoder has served as Stutzman’s district director for four years.