Pence appoints former Democratic candidate for governor to run IEDC

Gov. Mike Pence is tapping a one-time Democratic candidate for governor to lead the state’s economic development efforts.

The governor on Wednesday appointed Jim Schellinger, chairman and CEO of CSO Architects, to be president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. Schellinger replaces Eric Doden, who resigned in May.

“We need to come together as a state,” Pence said in appointing a Democrat to head the IEDC. “I don’t think jobs is a partisan issue. … We’re all in this together.”

Schellinger will take over as president of IEDC effective Aug. 10. He said he will take a leave of absence from CSO Architects during his time as IEDC president.

Pence called Schellinger a “consensus builder” and praised him for leaving the private sector to help the state.

Schellinger said he understands the concerns of businesspeople because he is one of them.

“Running a small business and growing that business is challenging. I understand those challenges,” he said.

In reaching across the political aisle, the Pence administration is hoping to help silence critics who say the governor puts ideology and hot-button social issues ahead of priorities such as economic development and job creation.

Schellinger sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 2008, losing narrowly to Jill Long Thompson. He, his wife and his campaign have contributed more than $930,000 to Democratic candidates and committees over the years. He is also chairman of the Indiana Democrat Victory Committee, a PAC that has raised more than $1.14 million for Democrats since 2009.

But Schellinger has also shown a willingness to work with Republican administrations. He is currently a member of the IEDC’s board of directors, which is chaired by Pence. He and his wife also contributed a total of $15,000 to Pence’s campaign last year.

Democrats speculated that Schellinger was eager to make a statewide civic contribution and had grown frustrated with his ability to do so from within the minority party. Republicans have supermajorities in the state legislature and control all but one statewide office.

Democrats also acknowledge that the appointment effectively sidelines an important Democratic donor and fundraiser.

“I would certainly think the job would come first,” said Mike Claytor, who is treasurer of former Indiana House Speaker John Gregg’s campaign for governor and of Schellinger’s Indiana Democrat Victory Committee.

Gregg has slammed Pence for signing into law Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Supporters of the law say it is needed to protect religious believers from government overreach, but critics feared it could allow businesses to refuse services to gays and lesbians for religious reasons. National backlash prompted threats of boycotts and convention cancellations.

Lawmakers later amended the law at Pence’s request to prevent it from eroding local non-discrimination ordinances.

“It’s only after he put Indiana and its middle class in jeopardy that Governor Pence has decided to listen to a Democrat on how to better improve the state’s sluggish economy and bruised well-being,” Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody said.

Asked whether he felt the RFRA controversy hurt the state’s economic development efforts, Schellinger said the state’s recent successes — including Amazon’s announcement that it was hiring 2,000 new employees at its Indiana warehouses and the FFA’s decision to host its annual conventions in Indianapolis for the next nine years — suggest the answer is, “No.”

He was non-committal when asked if he supported adding sexual orientation and gender identity to Indiana’s civil rights protections — a move that Democrats and some Republicans say would help ensure the state’s reputation as a welcoming place after the RFRA firestorm.

Schellinger said he and Pence oppose all forms of discrimination and that he trusts Pence to listen to all sides of the debate.

Schellinger joined CSO Architects in 1987. Since then, the company’s projects have included Circle Centre mall, the JW Marriott hotel, the Indianapolis International Airport terminal, the Indiana Government Center and the Palladium in Carmel.

Call Star reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.