D. Brent Waltz (born September 7, 1973)[1] is an Indiana State Senator and Indianapolis businessman. He represents southern Marion County and northern Johnson County which comprise the 36th Senate District of Indiana following his defeat of Senate Finance Chairman Larry Borst in the May 2004 Republican primary election.[2] His investment banking company, The Baron Group, Inc., specializes in mergers, acquisitions, and capitalization of small to mid size private companies in the transportation and manufacturing industries.
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Darryl Brent Waltz, Jr. was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on September 7, 1973 to Darryl Brent Waltz, Sr. and Geraldine Chaney Waltz. He is an only child. His father was a senior vice president of an Indiana savings and loan. Waltz graduated from Center Grove High School in 1992 as a National Merit Scholar. At 16, he became an Eagle Scout with bronze, silver, and gold palms. After high school, he attended Wabash College where he completed his degree as a history major with a minor in political science in 3 1/2 years.[3]
Three out of four of Waltz's great grandfathers held elected office in Indiana and Kentucky. At the age of 26 he was elected an at-large member of the Johnson County Council in 2000. He established himself as a fiscal conservative and an advocate of law enforcement during his tenure. He was elected President of the Johnson County in 2003 and reelected his last year on the council in 2004.
Waltz achieved one of the greatest upsets in Indiana political history when he defeated 36 year incumbent and Senate Finance Chairman Larry Borst. Borst was one of the most powerful Indiana politicians of the 21st century.[4] Waltz defeated Borst by 38 votes in the 2004 Republican primary - 6062 to 6024.[5] He easily defeated his Democratic opponent in the November 2004 election and was reelected to a second term in 2008.
In 1995 Waltz founded his investment banking company, The Baron Group, Inc. - named after a company in a Jeffery Archer novel. In 2001 Waltz and two business partners began a logistics and courier company named Velox Express.[6] The company began in the living room of its President, James Gibson. Today the company's annual revenue exceeds $10 million with offices in 12 cities throughout 7 states.
1. Indianapolis Star October 21, 2004. 2. Daily Journal May 3, 2004. 3. http://www.in.gov/legislative/senate_republicans/homepages/s36/5046.htm 4. Daily Journal, May 4, 2004 5. Indianapolis Star, May 4, 2004 6. http://www.Veloxexpress.com
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