YWCA lands right man for job for womenThe YWCA of Northeast Indiana could not have picked a better man to make history for the organization.Statehouse undergoes generational shift
Rep. Jeff Espich’s announcement that he won’t seek a 21st term was particularly well publicized in northeast Indiana. But Espich, who is from Uniondale and who is the chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, is hardly the only legislator checking out this year.
Rep. William Crawford, D-Indianapolis, is the ranking minority member on Ways and Means, and he will match Espich’s 40-year tenure in the General Assembly. Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, outranks them both in seniority – he was elected in 1970. Rep. John Day, D-Indianapolis, also retires this year, after 35 years.
Indiana Legislative Insight notes that their retirements leave Rep. Phyllis Pond, R-New Haven, and House Minority Leader Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, as the only legislators first elected in the 1970s.
In all, 17 House members are retiring; two are seeking election to the Senate.
