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Charles D. Baker, Jr.
Charlie Baker speaking at the 2010 Gubernatorial Speaker Series hosted by the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University on February 4, 2010.
Selectman of Swampscott, Massachusetts
In office
2004–2007
Secretary of Administration and Finance of Massachusetts
In office
1994 – September 1998
GovernorWilliam Weld
Paul Cellucci (acting)
Preceded byMark Robinson
Succeeded byAndrew Natsios
Secretary of Health and Human Services of Massachusetts
In office
1992–1994
GovernorWilliam Weld
Preceded byDavid P. Forsberg
Succeeded byGerald Whitburn
Personal details
Born(1956-11-13)November 13, 1956
Needham, Massachusetts
Political partyRepublican
SpouseLauren Baker
Residence(s)Swampscott, Massachusetts
Alma materHarvard University
Kellogg School of Management
WebsiteCharlie Baker 2010

Charles D. "Charlie" Baker, Jr. (born November 13, 1956), is an American businessman and politician from Massachusetts. He was a cabinet official under two Massachusetts governors, spent ten years as CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and is a Republican candidate in the 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.

Raised in Needham, Massachusetts, Baker is the son of a Republican executive official who worked under Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. He graduated from Harvard College and obtained an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. In 1991, he became Massachusetts Undersecretary of Health and Human Services under Governor William Weld. In 1992, he was appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services of Massachusetts. He later served as Secretary of Administration and Finance under Weld and his successor Paul Cellucci.

After working in government for eight years, Baker left to become CEO of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and later Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a non-profit health benefits company. During this time he served three years as a selectman of Swampscott, Massachusetts, and considered a run for governor in 2006. He stepped down in July 2009 to pursue the Republican nomination for Governor of Massachusetts on a platform of fiscal conservatism and social liberalism.

Early life and career

Charles D. Baker, Jr., the fourth generation of the name Charles Baker, was born November 13, 1956, in Elmira, New York.[1] His father Charles D. Baker (born 1928), a Harvard graduate, was a buyer for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, while his mother Betty Baker remained at home.[1][2] Baker grew up with two younger brothers Jonathan and Alex in Needham, Massachusetts, with a second home in Rockport. He grew up playing football, hockey, and baseball; he has described his childhood as "pretty all-American".[1]

Baker's father was a conservative Republican, his mother a liberal Democrat, and the family was often drawn into political arguments at the dinner table.[1] His father became vice president of Harbridge House, a Boston management consulting firm, in 1965. In 1969, the family moved to Washington, D.C., where the elder Baker was named Deputy Under Secretary of the Department of Transportation under President Richard Nixon, and the next year became the department's Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs.[1][2]

The family returned to Needham in 1971, where Baker attended Needham High School.[2][3] In high school he served on the student council and joined DeMolay International, a youth fraternity organization. He reluctantly attended Harvard University "because of the brand", graduating in 1979 with a BA in English. He later reflected negatively on the experience, writing, "With a few exceptions ... those four years are ones I would rather forget."[1][3] He then attended Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where he received an MBA in Management. After graduating, Baker served as corporate communications director for the Massachusetts High Technology Council.[4] (His father went on to serve as Undersecretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services under President Ronald Reagan.[5])

State government career

In the late 1980s, Baker was hired as codirector of the newly founded Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based libertarian think tank. Lovett C. Peters, the institute's founder, later recommended him to William Weld, the incoming Republican Governor of Massachusetts.[3] Weld took office in January 1991 and hired him as Undersecretary of Health and Human Services.

In cutting back state programs and social services, Baker caused controversy from early on. However, some government officials called him an "innovator" and "one of the big stars among the secretariats and the agencies".[4] Baker was promoted to Secretary of Health and Human Services in November 1992,[4] and was later made Secretary of Administration and Finance, a position he continued to hold after Weld resigned in 1997 and Paul Cellucci took over as acting governor. In mid-1998, Cellucci offered him the lieutenant governor spot on the ticket, but Baker declined.[3]

As Secretary of Administration and Finance, Baker was a main architect of the Big Dig financing plan. In 1997 the federal government was planning to cut funding for the Big Dig by $300 million per year.[6] The state set up a trust and sold Grant Anticipation Notes (GANs) to investors. The notes were secured by promising future federal highway funds. As federal highway dollars are awarded to Massachusetts, the money is used to pay off the GANs.[6][7]

According to a 2007 blue-ribbon panel, the cost overruns of the Big Dig, combined with Baker's plan for financing them, ultimately left the state transportation system underfunded by $1 billion a year.[6] Baker defended his plan as responsible, effective, and based on previous government officials' good-faith assurances that the Big Dig would be built on time and on budget.[6] However, as he was developing the plan, Baker had also had to take into account that Governor Cellucci was dead-set against any new taxes or fees.[6] Former State Transportation Secretary James J. Kerasiotes, the public face of the Big Dig, praised Baker's work on the financing and said, “We were caught in a confluence of events," adding that “Charlie had a job to do, and he did his job and he did it well".[6]

Health industry career

In September 1998, Baker left state government and became CEO of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, a New England–based physicians' group.[3] In May 1999, he was named president and CEO of Harvard Vanguard's parent company, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a non-profit health benefits organization.[8] The company had lost $58 million in 1998[9] and was predicted to lose over $90 million in 1999.[citation needed] Baker responded by cutting the workforce by 90 people, increasing premiums, establishing new contracts with Massachusetts physicians, reassessing the company's financial structure, and outsourcing its information technology.[8][10] During his tenure as CEO, the company had 24 profitable quarters in a row and earned recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance as its choice for America's Best Health Plan for five straight years.[3]

In mid-2007, Baker was invited to join the board of trustees of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Because of Baker's role in the insurance business, the appointment caused controversy, but he and the hospital's CEO, Paul F. Levy, denied any conflict of interest.[11] Baker also serves on the board of directors of the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center,[12] which, according to its website, "conducts pioneering programs to educate, train and support caregivers in the art of compassionate health care".[13]

Return to politics

Baker ran for the board of selectmen of Swampscott, Massachusetts, in 2004, and won by a "landslide".[3] While on the board, he was noted for a businessman-like approach to local issues; his fellow selectmen described him as "low key" and budget-oriented.[14] After serving three years, he chose not to run for re-election in 2007.[15]

In mid-2005, there were indications that Governor Mitt Romney would not seek re-election in the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election. Baker was widely considered a top contender to take Romney's place as the Republican candidate.[16] Analysts wrote that Baker was unlikely to defeat Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, who had already announced her candidacy. Healey was the 2–1 favorite among Republican voters in a Boston Globe poll and had much stronger financial backing. Furthermore, ethics guidelines at Harvard Pilgrim prevented Baker from carrying out any political fundraising while he held an executive position.[16] After "giving serious consideration" to the idea, he announced in August 2005 that he would not run, citing the burden it would be on his family and the difficulty of campaigning against Healey.[16]

In late 2006, Baker was named to a Budget and Finance working group for incoming Governor Deval Patrick's transition committee.[17] In 2008, he joined the Public Advisory Board of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) at Saint Anselm College.[18]

Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign

See also: Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2010

In 2010 Baker was rumored to be a contender for the Massachusetts gubernatorial election. Former governor Weld strongly encouraged him to run, calling him "the heart and soul of the Weld–Cellucci administration".[19] On July 8, 2009, Baker announced his candidacy, and on July 17 he stepped down from his position at Harvard Pilgrim.[20][21] His campaign formally began on January 30, 2010. His opponents are Democratic incumbent Deval Patrick, Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein and an Independent, State Treasurer and Receiver General Tim Cahill.[22] For his running mate, Baker chose Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei.[23] At the state Republican Convention on April 17, 2010, Baker beat former Independent candidate Christy Mihos for the Republican nomination, winning with 89% of the delegate vote, thus avoiding a primary fight with Mihos.[24]

Baker is running as a social liberal (in favor of gay marriage and abortion rights) but a fiscal conservative, stressing job creation as his primary focus.[20][21] His campaign is centered on "Baker's Dozen", a plan outlining 13 areas of state government reform. Baker's campaign says that his plan, which includes consolidation of government, welfare reform, and restructuring of public employee pension and retirement benefits, will lower state expenditures by over $1 billion.[25] Baker, a former member of the Massachusetts Board of Education, supports increasing the number of charter, magnet, and alternative schools. Believing that education is a "civil right", he also hopes to close the educational achievement gap among underprivileged and minority students.[26] At a town hall meeting in Chilmark, Massachusetts, on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Baker voiced his opposition to the proposed Cape Wind project supported by Governor Deval Patrick.[27]

Personal life

Baker and his wife, Lauren, live in Swampscott. They have three children: Charlie, AJ, and Caroline.[28] His brother Jonathan is dean of college counseling at Worcester Academy, while his brother Alex works for Partners HealthCare.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g English, Bella (October 3, 2010). "Baker: Happy days, high expectations." The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Ronald Reagan: Nomination of Charles D. Baker To Be Under Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services." The American Presidency Project. July 27, 1984. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Moskowitz, Eric (July 8, 2009). "For GOP's Baker, a long resume at a relatively young age." The Boston Globe (online). Retrieved July 30, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c Phillips, Frank (October 8, 1992). "Weld said to tap health aide for Cabinet post." The Boston Globe 242 (100): p. 38. ISSN 0743-1791
  5. ^ Aucoin, Don (November 22, 1992). "Like father, like son." The Boston Globe 242 (145): p. 77. ISSN 0743-1791
  6. ^ a b c d e f Rezendes, Michael; Bierman, Noah (June 13, 2010). "Baker's role in Big Dig financing process was anything but 'small'." The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  7. ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/06/13/06_13_10_big_dig_funding_scheme/
  8. ^ a b Harris, Elizabeth (November 16, 1999). "New England's health care market comes up for air." The Bond Buyer 330 (30,769): p. 7. ISSN 0732-0469.
  9. ^ Jacob, Julie A. (January 24, 2000). "Takeover sparks dread of ripple effect." American Medical News 43 (3): p. 1. ISSN 0098-7484.
  10. ^ Gaudin, Sharon (December 18, 2000). "Harvard Pilgrim's near-death." Network World 17 (51): p. 48. ISSN 0887-7661.
  11. ^ Vesely, Rebecca (December 17, 2007). "Insurer joins hospital board." Modern Healthcare 37 (50): p. 14. ISSN 0160-7480.
  12. ^ [1] Kenneth B. Schwartz Center website, Board of Directors listing. Accessed September 27, 2010.
  13. ^ [2] Kenneth B. Schwartz Center homepage. Accessed September 27, 2010.
  14. ^ Rosenberg, Steven (July 14, 2009). "Baker left his mark as a selectman." The Boston Globe 276 (14): p. B1. ISSN 0743-1791.
  15. ^ Laidler, John (May 24, 2007). "13 new selectmen settle in for challenges." The Boston Globe 271 (144): p. B1. ISSN 0743-1791.
  16. ^ a b c Phillips, Frank (August 30, 2005). "Baker picks family over campaign." The Boston Globe 268 (61): p. B1. ISSN 0743-1791.
  17. ^ Patrick–Murray Transition Committee (November 22, 2006). "Deval Patrick/Tim Murray announce transition working groups and members."
  18. ^ "Public Advisory Board." New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Saint Anselm College. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  19. ^ Lehigh, Scot (June 10, 2009). "Is the state political stage set for a rerun of 1990?" The Boston Globe 275 (161): p. A13. ISSN 0743-1791.
  20. ^ a b Helman, Scott (July 30, 2009). "Some in GOP hoping Baker frees party from shadow of Romney." The Boston Globe 276 (30): p. 11. ISSN 0743-1791
  21. ^ a b "Baker to run for gov. in 2010." FOX 25 News Boston. July 8, 2009 (updated July 9, 2009). Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  22. ^ Johnson, Carolyn Y. (January 30, 2010). "Baker formally announces campaign for governor." The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  23. ^ Levenson, Michael (November 24, 2009). "Baker names Senate's Tisei as running mate." The Boston Globe 276 (147): p. A1. ISSN 0743-1791
  24. ^ Phillips, Frank; Levenson , Michael, "Baker romps, Mihos is out: Candidate wins 89% of vote and avoids a primary fight", The Boston Globe, April 18, 2010
  25. ^ "Baker's Dozen." Charlie Baker 2010. The Baker Committee. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  26. ^ "Strengthening Education." Charlie Baker 2010. The Baker Committee. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  27. ^ [3]
  28. ^ "About Charlie." Charlie Baker 2010. The Baker Committee. Retrieved February 15, 2010.

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