Charlie Baker

Charlie Baker (2018)

Charles Duane "Charlie" Baker (* 13. November 1956 in Elmira , New York ) is an American politician of the Republican Party and managers . He has been the governor of the state of Massachusetts since January 8, 2015 . Baker is considered a pragmatic politician and belongs to the left wing of his party.

Life

Earlier years and political advancement

Baker's father, Charles, was an entrepreneur and, in the 1980s, Secretary of State in various federal ministries during the administrations of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan . Charlie Baker first studied English , where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1979 . He later completed a degree in economics, which he successfully completed as a Master of Business Administration . He then worked as communications director for the Massachusetts High Technology Council . In the late 1980s, he took a board post at the Pioneer Institute, a libertarian think tank.

In January 1991, Baker, like his father a member of the Republican Party , took over political office for the first time after Governor Bill Weld had appointed him Undersecretary of State in the Massachusetts State Department of Health. In November 1992 the governor promoted him to health minister. In 1994, he was named State Treasury Secretary through a cabinet reshuffle. He kept this position even after Paul Cellucci took over as the new governor in 1997 . This offered Baker for the 1998 gubernatorial election as lieutenant governor , which the finance minister declined. In September 1998, Baker resigned and returned to the private sector. There he worked for several years on the boards of various pharmaceutical companies. Between 2003 and 2007, however, he was a member of Swampscott City Council . In 2006 he was traded as a possible candidate for his party for governorship after Governor Mitt Romney did not seek a new term. From 2008 to 2010 he was on an advisory board at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire .

Candidate for governor in 2010

Charlie Baker in 2010

In July 2009, Baker officially announced his candidacy for Massachusetts governor in the 2010 election . In April 2010 the Republicans nominated him as their candidate. In the actual election on November 2, 2010, however, he was defeated by the Democratic incumbent Deval Patrick . Baker was in favor of 42 percent of the vote, while Governor Patrick received 48 percent of the vote. Another eight percent went to the independent candidate Tim Cahill. After his electoral defeat, he returned to the private sector, this time at an investment firm.

Renewed candidacy for governor in 2014

Charlie Baker at a political discussion in February 2014

In September 2013, Baker announced that he would again seek the highest office in Massachusetts in the 2014 gubernatorial election. In March 2014 he was elected at the Republican party congress with 82 percent of the delegate's votes. In the gubernatorial election on November 4, 2014 Baker competed against the Democrat Martha Coakley , whom he was able to defeat with 48.5% of the vote. 46.6% of the voters spoke out in favor of his opponent. At Baker's side, the Massachusetts House of Representatives , Karyn Polito , was elected lieutenant governor .

Although the state of Massachusetts is considered to be left-wing liberal and accordingly most of the voters are leaning towards the Democrats, the moderate Republican Baker was given serious chances of an election victory in advance. The pre-election polls were head-to-head. Baker also represents liberal positions in numerous socio-political areas. For example, he advocates equal treatment for homosexual marriages . However, he describes himself as conservative in terms of fiscal policy, which means that he rejects deficit spending and advocates a restrictive fiscal policy .

On October 27, 2014, the Boston Globe surprised everyone with an election recommendation for Baker. It was the first time in more than 20 years that this newspaper recommended a Republican election. According to the Boston Globe , Baker is more likely to successfully continue the educational reforms initiated by Governor Patrick. Baker has also proven that he is a capable manager, and a Republican counterbalance to the predominantly Democratic legislature should be advocated, the newspaper said.

Massachusetts Governor

Baker was sworn in as governor on January 8, 2015. However, when it comes to legislation, it is dependent on cooperation with the Democrats, who will still have a majority of seats in both houses of the State Legislature after the 2014 elections . Baker said he wanted to work constructively with the Democrats and find non-partisan, pragmatic solutions to political problems.

In the first few weeks of his tenure, Baker was called upon as a crisis manager after a blizzard struck the northeastern United States. His swift intervention with state resources received positive public and media coverage. The governor's advocacy for extensive legalization of cannabis , which most Republican politicians oppose, was welcomed in polls. At the end of April 2015, after 100 days in office, surveys showed Baker a 70% agreement with his office.

Baker was an outspoken critic of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election campaign . In addition to the rhetoric against immigrants, he also criticized the denial of climate change by Trump and other Republican party colleagues. In June 2017, the governor sharply criticized the US President Trump's announcement that the US would withdraw from the Paris Agreement on global climate protection. At the same time he announced a continuation and intensification of the efforts of his state to fight climate change. Massachusetts also joined an alliance for climate protection in the democratically ruled states of New York , Washington and Virginia . According to Baker, Massachusetts should take on a leading role in the USA for renewable energies and not only comply with existing environmental protection regulations, but exceed them.

In early 2018, Baker and his Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito announced his application for a second term in the November election . Due to his pragmatic course of the political center and the distance to President Trump, he was considered a clear favorite for re-election from the start. In the second quarter of 2018, a poll found that 69% of Massachusetts voters polled are satisfied with Baker's leadership of government. He was ranked number one of the most popular governors in the entire United States. On election day, November 6, 2018, Baker defeated the Democrat Jay Gonzalez very clearly with almost 67% of the vote and thus achieved one of the best results in the country. He also received more votes than Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren , who was also re-elected with 60% of the vote. Baker was thus able to clearly decouple himself from the national trend of the 2018 elections, where the Republicans lost the majority in the US House of Representatives and had to surrender seven governorships to the Democrats. In addition to Baker, his party colleagues Larry Hogan from Maryland , Phil Scott from Vermont and Chris Sununu from New Hampshire succeeded in doing this . Like Baker, these are assigned to the centrist wing of the Republicans. Charlie Baker's second term began in January 2019.

Private life

Charlie Baker has been married to his wife Laureen since 1987. You have three children.

Web links

Commons : Charlie Baker  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Web presence of the governor offices (English)
• Personal campaign site of Charlie Baker (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ www.thefamouspeople.com
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Biography on his website: Meet Charlie ( Memento of the original from August 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
3. ^ Boston.com: Baker's role in Big Dig financing process was anything but 'small'
4. ↑ Real Clear Politics: Massachusetts Governor: Martha Coakley vs. Charlie Baker
5. ↑ Masslive.com: Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker marks 10th anniversary of legal gay marriage in Massachusetts with video release detailing brother Alex's coming out story
6. ↑ CNN: Boston Globe endorses GOP governor candidate, first time in 20 years
7. ↑ Gov. Charlie Baker enjoys 70 percent approval rating, after 100 days in office , MassLive.com, April 22, 2015
8. ↑ US Alliance for Climate Protection: Then without Trump , Tagesschau, June 2, 2017
9. ↑ America's most and least popular governors , Morning Consult, July 25, 2018 (English)