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Charles Baker
Governor of Massachusetts
Elect
Assuming office
January 8, 2015
LieutenantKaryn Polito (elect)
SucceedingDeval Patrick
Secretary of Administration and Finance
In office
1994 – September 1998
GovernorWilliam Weld
Paul Cellucci
Preceded byMark Robinson
Succeeded byFrederick Laskey
Secretary of Health and Human Services
In office
November 1992 – 1994
GovernorWilliam Weld
Preceded byDavid Forsberg
Succeeded byGerald Whitburn
Personal details
Born
Charles Duane Baker, Jr.

(1956-11-13) November 13, 1956 (age 68)
Elmira, New York
Political partyRepublican
SpouseLauren Baker
Alma materHarvard University
Northwestern University
WebsiteCampaign website

Charles Duane "Charlie" Baker, Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American businessman and Governor-elect of Massachusetts. He was a cabinet official under two Massachusetts governors, spent ten years as CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and was also the Republican nominee for Governor of Massachusetts in his unsuccessful bid in 2010.

Raised in the suburban town ofNeedham, 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 run for Governor of Massachusetts on a platform of fiscal conservatism and social liberalism. He was unopposed in the Republican primary but lost in the general election to Democratic incumbent Deval Patrick. Running for governor again, on 4 November 2014, he won the general election against Democrat Martha Coakley.

Early life and career

Charles Duane Baker, Jr. was born November 13, 1956, in Elmira, New York. Baker is of English ancestry, and his family has been in what is now the northeastern United States since the colonial era.[1] He bore the fourth generation of his name:[2][3] His great-grandfather, Charles D. Baker (1846–1934), was an Assistant United States Attorney in New York, who served several years in the New York State Assembly.[4] His grandfather, Charles D. Baker, Jr. (c. 1890–1971), was a prominent politician in Newburyport, Massachusetts.[5][6] His father, Charles Duane Baker (born 1928), a Harvard graduate, was a buyer for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, while his mother, Alice Elizabeth "Betty" (née Ghormley), remained at home.[2][7][8] 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".[2]

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.[2] 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.[2][7]

The family returned to Needham in 1971, where Baker attended Needham High School.[7][9] In high school he served on the student council and joined DeMolay International, a youth fraternity organization. He reluctantly attended Harvard College "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."[2][9] 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.[10] (His father served as Undersecretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services under President Ronald Reagan.)[11]

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. "Pete" Peters, the institute's founder, later recommended him to William Weld, the incoming Republican Governor of Massachusetts.[9] 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".[10] Baker was promoted to Secretary of Health and Human Services in November 1992,[10] 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.[9]

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.[12] 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.[12][13]

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.[12] 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.[12] 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.[12] 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".[12]

Health industry career

In September 1998, Baker left state government and became CEO of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, a New England–based physicians' group.[9] 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.[14] The company had lost $58 million in 1998[15] 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.[14][16] 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.[9]

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.[17] Baker also serves on the board of directors of the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center,[18] which, according to its website, "conducts pioneering programs to educate, train and support caregivers in the art of compassionate health care".[19]

Return to politics

Baker ran for the board of selectmen of Swampscott, Massachusetts, in 2004, and won by a "landslide".[9] 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.[20] After serving three years, he chose not to run for re-election in 2007.[21]

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.[22] 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.[22] 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.[22]

In late 2006, Baker was named to a Budget and Finance working group for incoming Governor Deval Patrick's transition committee.[23] In 2008, he joined the Public Advisory Board of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) at Saint Anselm College.[24]

2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign

See also: Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2010
Baker in 2010 at Suffolk University Law School

In 2009 Baker was again 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".[25] On July 8, 2009, Baker announced his candidacy, and on July 17 he stepped down from his position at Harvard Pilgrim.[26][27] His campaign formally began on January 30, 2010. His opponents were Democratic incumbent Deval Patrick, Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein and an Independent, State Treasurer and Receiver General Tim Cahill.[28] For his running mate, Baker chose Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei.[29] 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.[30]

Baker ran as a social liberal (in favor of gay marriage and abortion rights) but a fiscal conservative, stressing job creation as his primary focus.[26][27] His campaign centered on "Baker's Dozen", a plan outlining 13 areas of state government reform. Baker's campaign said that his plan, which included consolidation of government, welfare reform, and restructuring of public employee pension and retirement benefits, would lower state expenditures by over $1 billion.[31] Baker, a former member of the Massachusetts Board of Education, advocated increasing the number of charter, magnet, and alternative schools. Believing that education is a "civil right", he also aimed to close the educational achievement gap among underprivileged and minority students.[32] 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.[33]

Baker ran against Patrick in an atmosphere of voter discontent, with a slow economy and high unemployment, which he used to his advantage during the campaign. Patrick, facing low approval ratings, criticized Baker for his role in the Big Dig financing plan, and for raising health premiums while head of Harvard Pilgrim.[12] Despite an anti-incumbent mood among voters, Baker was defeated in the November 2 general election with 42 percent of the vote. Patrick was re-elected with 48 percent of the vote.[34] "We fought the good fight," said Baker in his concession speech. "We have no cause to hang our heads and will be stronger for having fought this one."[12]

Between gubernatorial campaigns

After his 2010 defeat, Baker was named an executive in residence at General Catalyst Partners and a member of the board of directors at the Tremont Credit Union.[35]

2014 Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign

Main article: Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2014

On September 4, 2013, Baker announced that he would run again for Governor of Massachusetts in 2014 when incumbent Governor Deval Patrick, to whom he lost in 2010, retires. On `November 25, 2013, Mark Fisher, a businessman and Tea Party member announced that he would run against Baker in the Republican primary.[36]

At the Republican State Convention on March 22, 2014, Baker received 2,095 votes (82.708%), Fisher received 374 votes (14.765%) and there were 64 blank votes (2.527%). The threshold for making the ballot is 15% and the party announced that Baker had thus received the nomination without the need for a primary election.[37] However, Fisher argued that according to the Convention Rules, blank votes are not counted for the purposes of determining the winner and that he thus received 15.148%, enough to make the ballot. He sued the Massachusetts Republican State Committee and after a lengthy battle,[38][39] he was certified for the primary ballot.[40][41]

In July 2014, Baker was criticized by Democrats for refusing to say whether he supported a provision in the new gun control law that gave police chiefs discretion to deny firearms identification cards, which are required to purchase shotguns and rifles.[42] He later stated in a debate that he would have signed the gun control bill as it was signed by Governor Patrick.[43]

In the primary election held on September 9, Baker defeated Fisher with 74% of the vote. He defeated Democrat Martha Coakley, the Attorney General of Massachusetts, in the general election.

On October 27, 2014, The Boston Globe announced that it was endorsing Baker marking the first time in twenty years that newspaper has supported a Republican candidate for governor. "One needn't agree with every last one of Baker's views to conclude that, at this time, the Republican nominee would provide the best counterpoint to the instincts of an overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature," the endorsement reads. The newspaper also supported Baker because it claimed the Baker would be the better candidate to "consolidate" outgoing Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick's legacy on reforms tied to education, health care and public transportation.[44]

On October 29, 2014, controversy arose over a story that Baker told the previous night about a fisherman and his two sons in New Bedford. In the following days, The Boston Globe and The Standard-Times were unable to find the fisherman. This story, which Baker claims to have occurred in 2009, has been attributed by a professor from Northeastern University as a potential false memory. Coakley seized on this moment to launch an attack on Baker, and visited New Bedford to meet with fishing industry leaders.[45]

In the early morning of November 5, 2014, preliminary results showed that Charlie Baker won the 2014 Massachusetts Gubernatorial Election.[46] Later in the morning of November 5, Democratic opponent Martha Coakley conceded the race to Baker.[47]

Personal life

Baker married Lauren Cardy Schadt, another Kellogg alum, in 1987. Lauren was an assistant account executive at a New York advertising agency, and is the daughter of James P. Schadt, the former CEO of Reader's Digest and Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages.[48] Charlie and Lauren live in Swampscott, Massachusetts. They have three children.[49] Baker's brother, Jonathan, is Dean of college counseling at Worcester Academy, while his brother Alex works for Partners HealthCare.[2]

References

  1. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=JvKW3fTOd8oC&pg=PA63&dq=Charles+Duane+Baker+ancestry&hl=en&sa=X&ei=d2taVIuTHcTziAK9goHAAQ&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Charles%20Duane%20Baker%20ancestry&f=false
  2. ^ a b c d e f g English, Bella (October 3, 2010). "Baker: Happy days, high expectations." The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  3. ^ "Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Inc., Quarterly Statement as of March 31, 2007." Maine.gov.
  4. ^ Near, Irvin W. (1911). A History of Steuben County, New York, and Its People. pp. 578–580. The Lewis Publishing Company (Chicago).
  5. ^ "Charles B. Baker, Jr." October 9, 1971. The New York Times. p. 34
  6. ^ "Estates Appraised." The New York Times: p. 38. October 31, 1934.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ a b c Phillips, Frank (October 8, 1992). "Weld said to tap health aide for Cabinet post." The Boston Globe 242 (100): p. 38.
  11. ^ Aucoin, Don (November 22, 1992). "Like father, like son." The Boston Globe 242 (145): p. 77.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. Cite error: The named reference "rezendes-2010" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Big Dig funding scheme". The Boston Globe. June 13, 2010. Retrieved 24 Sep 2013.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Jacob, Julie A. (January 24, 2000). "Takeover sparks dread of ripple effect." American Medical News 43 (3): p. 1.
  16. ^ Gaudin, Sharon (December 18, 2000). "Harvard Pilgrim's near-death." Network World 17 (51): p. 48.
  17. ^ Vesely, Rebecca (December 17, 2007). "Insurer joins hospital board." Modern Healthcare 37 (50): p. 14.
  18. ^ [2] Kenneth B. Schwartz Center website, Board of Directors listing. Accessed September 27, 2010.
  19. ^ [3] Kenneth B. Schwartz Center homepage. Accessed September 27, 2010.
  20. ^ Rosenberg, Steven (July 14, 2009). "Baker left his mark as a selectman." The Boston Globe 276 (14): p. B1.
  21. ^ Laidler, John (May 24, 2007). "13 new selectmen settle in for challenges." The Boston Globe 271 (144): p. B1.
  22. ^ a b c Phillips, Frank (August 30, 2005). "Baker picks family over campaign." The Boston Globe 268 (61): p. B1.
  23. ^ Patrick–Murray Transition Committee (November 22, 2006). "Deval Patrick/Tim Murray announce transition working groups and members."
  24. ^ "Public Advisory Board." New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Saint Anselm College. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  25. ^ Lehigh, Scot (June 10, 2009). "Is the state political stage set for a rerun of 1990?" The Boston Globe 275 (161): p. A13.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ a b "Baker to run for gov. in 2010." FOX 25 News Boston. July 8, 2009 (updated July 9, 2009). Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  28. ^ Johnson, Carolyn Y. (January 30, 2010). "Baker formally announces campaign for governor." The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  29. ^ Levenson, Michael (November 24, 2009). "Baker names Senate's Tisei as running mate." The Boston Globe 276 (147): p. A1.
  30. ^ 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
  31. ^ "Baker's Dozen." Charlie Baker 2010. The Baker Committee. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  32. ^ "Strengthening Education." Charlie Baker 2010. The Baker Committee. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  33. ^ [4]
  34. ^ "Campaign 2010: Governor | Massachusetts." The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  35. ^ "Tremont Credit Union taps Charlie Baker for board". Boston Herald. March 22, 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  36. ^ Schoenberg, Shira (December 17, 2013). "Westfield native Mark Fisher launches Republican run for governor of Massachusetts". The Republican. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  37. ^ Bob Salsberg (March 22, 2014). "Baker Narrowly Avoids Contested GOP Primary For Governor". CBS Boston. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  38. ^ Joshua Miller (March 25, 2014). "Mark Fisher says he will definitely sue state GOP over convention results". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  39. ^ Robert Rizzuto (April 24, 2014). "Tea Party's Mark Fisher gets trial date in lawsuit against Massachusetts Republican Party over convention vote". Mass Live. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  40. ^ Matt Murphy (May 9, 2014). "Republicans relent, will allow Fisher on the primary ballot for governor". The Metro West Daily News. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  41. ^ Matt Stout (May 9, 2014). "Judge puts off trial as GOP says it will put Fisher on ballot". Boston Herald. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  42. ^ Miller, Joshua. "Baker sidesteps taking position on gun control provision". www.bostonglobe.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  43. ^ Miller, Joshua. "Stark divide in debate between GOP gubernatorial candidates". www.bostonglobe.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  44. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/27/politics/boston-globe-endorses-martha-coakley-opponent/index.html
  45. ^ Levenson, Eric (31 October 2014). "Charlie Baker's Teary Fisherman Story Shows the Power of False Memories". Boston Globe. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  46. ^ HuffingtonPost, Ashley Alman (4 November 2014). "Charlie Baker wins governor election". Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  47. ^ "Charlie Baker victorious as Martha Coakley concedes in governor's race". Boston Globe. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  48. ^ "987/05/24/style/miss-schadt-is-engaged.html Miss Schadt is engaged." The New York Times. May 24, 1987. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  49. ^ "About Charlie." Charlie Baker 2010. The Baker Committee. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of Massachusetts
2010, 2014 		Most recent

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