113 Facts About Charlie Baker

Charlie Baker served for ten years as the CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

Charlie Baker later served as Secretary of Administration and Finance under Weld and his successor, Paul Cellucci.

Charlie Baker stepped down in July 2009 to run for governor on a platform of fiscal conservatism and cultural liberalism.

Charlie Baker was unopposed in the Republican primary but lost the 2010 general election to Democratic incumbent Deval Patrick.

In 2014, Charlie Baker ran for governor again and narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Martha Coakley.

On December 15,2022, Charlie Baker was named as Mark Emmert's successor as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Charlie Baker was born on November 13,1956, in Elmira, New York.

Charlie Baker is the fourth generation in the family to bear the forename Charles.

Charlie Baker's great-grandfather Charles D Baker was an assistant United States attorney in New York, who served several years in the New York State Assembly.

Charlie Baker's father was a conservative Republican and his mother a liberal Democrat; the family was often drawn into political arguments at the dinner table.

Charlie Baker grew up with two younger brothers, Jonathan and Alex, in Needham, Massachusetts, before moving to Rockport.

Charlie Baker's father served as undersecretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services in the Reagan Administration under US Representative Margaret Heckler.

Charlie Baker served on the student council, played basketball, and joined DeMolay International, a youth fraternity organization.

Charlie Baker graduated from Needham High School in 1975, alongside future Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy.

Charlie Baker attended Harvard College and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts in English, where, by his own admission, he was a C-student-turned-B-student.

Charlie Baker then attended Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where he received an MBA.

In cutting back state programs and social services, Charlie Baker caused controversy from early on.

Charlie 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.

However, as he was developing the plan, Charlie Baker had had to take into account that Governor Cellucci was dead-set against any new taxes or fees.

Charlie 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.

In mid-2007, Charlie Baker was invited to join the board of trustees of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Charlie Baker was widely considered a top contender for the Republican nomination.

Furthermore, ethics guidelines at Harvard Pilgrim prevented Charlie Baker from carrying out any political fundraising while he held an executive position.

In late 2006, Charlie Baker was named to a Budget and Finance working group for incoming Governor Deval Patrick's transition committee.

In 2009 Charlie Baker was again rumored to be a contender for the Massachusetts gubernatorial election.

Charlie Baker's opponents were Democratic incumbent Deval Patrick, Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein, and an independent, state treasurer and Receiver General Tim Cahill.

Charlie Baker ran as a social liberal and a fiscal conservative, stressing job creation as his primary focus.

Charlie Baker reinforced his socially liberal position by selecting as his running mate Richard Tisei, an openly gay Republican who had supported same-sex marriage legalization efforts in Massachusetts.

Charlie 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.

On September 4,2013, Charlie Baker announced that he would run for governor again in 2014 when incumbent governor Deval Patrick retired.

In December 2013, Charlie Baker chose as his running mate Karyn Polito, a former opponent of same-sex marriage who had come to support marriage equality.

Charlie Baker again received the Republican Party's nomination, winning its primary.

In July 2014, Democrats criticized Charlie Baker 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.

Charlie Baker later said in a debate that he would have signed the gun control bill as it was signed by Governor Patrick.

Charlie Baker was inaugurated as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts on January 8,2015, at the Massachusetts State House in Boston.

Charlie Baker was inaugurated for his second term on January 3,2019.

Charlie Baker is considered a liberal or moderate Republican and has been a frequent critic of former President Donald Trump.

Charlie Baker supported the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump that began in September 2019.

On January 3,2023, Charlie Baker delivered his farewell address from the Massachusetts State House.

Charlie Baker was challenged in the Republican primary by Scott Lively, an evangelical pastor, who received enough votes at the state convention to qualify for ballot access.

Gonzalez suffered from low name recognition throughout the campaign and polls indicated that Charlie Baker would receive a majority of the vote from registered Democrats in the state.

At the start of his governorship, Charlie Baker's launched the Community Compact Program run by the Community Compact Cabinet.

In October 2015, Charlie Baker announced a strategy to leverage unused or underutilized state land for economic development and market-rate or affordable housing.

In February 2015, Charlie Baker directed the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to issue a public notice clarifying the status of transportation network companies while his administration developed a regulatory framework for the industry.

In October 2016, Charlie Baker issued an executive order to create a regulatory framework for the testing of driverless cars in Massachusetts, and in the same month, oversaw the opening of the state's electronic tolling system along the Massachusetts Turnpike.

In November 2017, Charlie Baker called for the state legislature to pass legislation banning handheld cellphone use while driving, with exceptions for hands-free technology usage and emergency situations.

In January 2018 Charlie Baker signed an executive order that created a commission study the state's transportation needs.

In July 2018, Charlie Baker line-item vetoed a pilot program for road congestion pricing, while the state legislature rejected an amendment to the state budget Charlie Baker proposed for a congestion study as an alternative to the pilot program.

In November 2019, Charlie Baker signed into law a bill banning the use of handheld electronic devices while driving.

In October 2015, Charlie Baker filed legislation to increase the state cap on the number of new charter schools in the state by 12 per year, and later in the same month, testified in favor of the legislation before the state legislature.

In March 2016, Charlie Baker opposed a proposed overhaul to the state's charter school system being debated in the Massachusetts Senate at the time, and the following month, the Massachusetts Senate rejected Charlie Baker's proposed charter school cap increase.

In July 2016, Charlie Baker vetoed a pay increase for pre-kindergarten teachers.

In November 2016, Charlie Baker campaigned on behalf of a ballot initiative to raise the state cap on new charter schools which failed to pass, and in the same month, Charlie Baker's administration expanded a STEM internship program allowing high school students to work at related companies in the state.

In March 2017, Charlie Baker proposed a six percent pay increase for pre-kindergarten teachers.

In October 2017, Charlie Baker attended the launch of an early college program at Lawrence High School allowing students to take courses at Merrimack College or Northern Essex Community College.

In November 2017, Charlie Baker signed into law a bill expanding options for schools in fulfilling English as a second language requirements for their immigrant students.

In September 2016, Charlie Baker's administration announced their intention to work with the state's Department of Higher Education and the University of Massachusetts system to develop a pilot program to support the MicroMasters programs developed by the massive open online course provider edX.

In July 2018, Charlie Baker included an amendment to a $583 million supplemental appropriations bill requiring public and private colleges and universities to report any financial liabilities or risks to the long-term financial viability of the institution to the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, which Charlie Baker signed into law as a full bill in November 2019.

In June 2017, Charlie Baker's administration announced a 200 megawatt-hour energy storage target in accordance with energy diversification legislation Charlie Baker signed into law in August 2016.

In December 2018, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources released a comprehensive energy plan in accordance with an executive order Charlie Baker issued in September 2016 for state agencies to develop a statewide adaptation plan for climate change.

In January 2018, Charlie Baker's administration announced that Eversource Energy's Northern Pass Project had received preliminary approval for the hydropower procurement under the energy diversification law.

In January 2016, Charlie Baker's administration announced that Massachusetts was on track to meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals.

In December 2016, Charlie Baker's administration released regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the natural gas, transportation, and electricity generation industries.

In January 2017, in order to meet emission reductions goals, Charlie Baker signed into law a bill to promote the sale and use of electric vehicles.

In February 2017, Charlie Baker joined a bipartisan coalition of governors that sent an open letter to President Donald Trump, calling on his administration to support renewable energy.

In December 2018, Charlie Baker's administration announced that it would extend the state's electric vehicle rebate program through the end of the following June, and a transportation commission Charlie Baker enacted by executive order the previous January released a report stating that all vehicles sold in the state should be electric by 2040.

Also in April 2016, Charlie Baker filed legislation requesting that the state Department of Environmental Protection be delegated to oversee Clean Water Act pollution discharge permits from the US Environmental Protection Agency along with 46 other states, and then again in March 2017 after the previous bill received opposition from Democrats on the state legislature's Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

In May 2015, Charlie Baker sent a request to US Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell to delay changes under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to the small business health insurance market in Massachusetts until the state government could formally file for a waiver, which was secured the next month and authorized in August.

In December 2016, Charlie Baker announced his support for the 21st Century Cures Act passed by the 114th US Congress.

In January 2017, in an open letter to US House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Charlie Baker defended certain provisions of the ACA and urged the 115th US Congress not to repeal the law too quickly and disrupt insurance markets.

In March 2017, after writing in an open letter to all members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation that the state could lose $1 billion in federal health care funding under the American Health Care Act of 2017, Charlie Baker opposed the version of the AHCA being voted on by the US House of Representatives at the time.

In October 2017, Charlie Baker opposed the Trump administration's decision to end ACA cost-sharing reduction payments, and along with the previous group of governors, wrote a fourth open letter to Senate leadership supporting the Bipartisan Health Care Stabilization Act of 2017 sponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray.

In November 2017, Charlie Baker wrote to Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan and US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urging them to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program.

In March 2016, Charlie Baker's administration cut $60 million from the state program Health Safety Net and Charlie Baker said that he wanted hospital pricing resolved by the state legislature rather than by a ballot initiative.

Later the same month, Charlie Baker signed into law a bill mandating insurance coverage of treatment for HIV-associated lipodystrophy caused by older HIV medications.

In January 2017, in his state budget proposal for fiscal year 2018, Charlie Baker proposed a $2,000-per-employee assessment on businesses that do not offer health insurance to counter spending growth in MassHealth, which was opposed by the state business community and supported by health care unions.

In February 2017, Charlie Baker's administration announced that the Massachusetts Health Connector enrolled the highest number of health insurance applicants since the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Also in February 2017, Charlie Baker's administration announced that it signed a contract with Correct Care Solutions to provide clinical patient care at Bridgewater State Hospital, and the next April, the administration announced that Correct Care Solutions had transitioned Bridgewater State Hospital to improved patient care.

In March 2018, Charlie Baker signed into law greater patient privacy protections from health insurance companies, and the next month, a commission Charlie Baker enacted the previous year to investigate evidence-based approaches to behavioral health released its final report.

Charlie Baker's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has received mixed reviews.

In January 2017, Charlie Baker voiced support for the Women's Marches being held across the United States.

In July 2017, Charlie Baker signed into law a bill requiring employers to provide "reasonable accommodations" for female employees who are pregnant and banning employment discrimination in hiring or termination against female employees who are pregnant, which went into effect in April 2018.

In October 2017, when the Trump administration issued new regulations allowing insurers and employers to opt out of contraceptive mandates, Charlie Baker reiterated his support for such mandates, and the next month signed into law a bill requiring Massachusetts insurers to cover birth control without copayments.

In February 2018, Charlie Baker's administration announced a supplemental spending bill that included $1.6 million for clinical family planning services that would backfill federal funding for Planned Parenthood clinics.

In July 2018, Baker signed into law a bill repealing state abortion laws that would have been retroactively reinstated when Roe v Wade was overturned, as well as laws against adultery, fornication, and physicians prescribing contraceptives to unmarried women.

In December 2020, Charlie Baker vetoed a bill that would lower to 16 the age at which someone can get an abortion without parental consent.

Charlie Baker said, "I cannot support the sections of this proposal that expand the availability of later term abortions and permit minors age 16 and 17 to get an abortion without the consent of a parent or guardian".

In May 2022, after Justice Samuel Alito's draft opinion in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization was leaked, Baker said overturning Roe v Wade would be a "massive setback" for women.

In September 2015, President Barack Obama's administration proposed accepting 10,000 Syrian Civil War refugees into the country, and Charlie Baker relayed his initial support for the proposal.

In July 2016, Charlie Baker signed a bill into law that prevents illegal immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses.

In February 2017, Charlie Baker issued an executive order to reestablish the state's Black Advisory Commission to advise his administration on issues of concern to the black community in Massachusetts.

In September 2017, Charlie Baker opposed Trump's administrative decision to phase out the DACA program and said that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeting sanctuary cities should focus on arresting convicted criminals in the country illegally and not on illegal immigrants whose only crime is illegal entry.

In December 2018, Charlie Baker called for the suspension of a state district court judge who allegedly assisted an illegal immigrant from being detained by an ICE agent during a legal proceeding from hearing further criminal cases until the federal investigation of the incident is concluded.

In June 2020, Charlie Baker signed a law making Juneteenth an official state holiday.

In December 2020, Charlie Baker signed into law An Act Relative to Justice, Equity and Accountability in Law Enforcement in the Commonwealth, a bill created in response to Black Lives Matter protests calling for police reform across the country in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the shooting of Breonna Taylor.

Charlie Baker originally hesitated to sign the bill and sent it back to the legislature due to a provision that would create a civilian-led commission on police misconduct, saying, "I do not accept the premise that civilians know best how to train police".

Charlie Baker opposed the bill's ban on facial recognition technology.

Charlie Baker signed the bill into law after compromising by limiting facial recognition technology, not banning it altogether.

In February 2015, Charlie Baker announced the formation of a working group to write a report formulating a statewide strategy to address the opioid epidemic in Massachusetts, which was released in June 2015.

In March 2016, Charlie Baker spoke in support of new Centers for Disease Control opioid prescription guidelines, signed into law a bill repealing automatic driver's license suspensions for people convicted of drug crimes, and signed into law a compromise version of the comprehensive opioid legislation he proposed the previous October.

In December 2016, Charlie Baker announced a pilot workers' compensation program to provide alternative treatments to opioids for workers with settled claims for on-the-job injuries.

In March 2017, Charlie Baker was appointed to the Trump Administration's Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission chaired by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and in June 2017, Charlie Baker attended the commission's first meeting.

In November 2017, the commission released its final report, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health released data showing opioid overdose deaths in Massachusetts declined by 10 percent over the first nine months of 2017, and Charlie Baker proposed an overhaul to the reforms he signed into law in March 2016.

On December 15,2022, the NCAA announced that Charlie Baker had been named the sixth president of the NCAA, effective March 2023.

Charlie Baker replaced Mark Emmert, who announced his intent to retire.

Charlie Baker became the first NCAA president to not be a college president or an athletic director since its inception.

Charlie Baker was the first NCAA president to not previously work for a power five conference, thus being NCAA's first outside-hire CEO.

In October 2023, Charlie Baker testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee, lobbying for federal legislation on name, image, and likeness deals that would standardize contracts, provide a national clearing house for oversight, and require agents to register with the federal government.

Charlie Baker argued without intervention, NCAA Division II and Division III colleges are likely to convert their teams into club sports to avoid the costs of recruiting student athletes.

On December 17,2024, in a US Senate hearing on sports betting, Charlie Baker got into a heated exchange about transgender athletes on college teams and in locker rooms with Sen.

Charlie Baker married Lauren Cardy Schadt, another Kellogg alumnus, in 1987.

Charlie Baker is the daughter of James P Schadt, the former CEO of Reader's Digest and Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages.

The next week, Charlie Baker responded to questions about the incident and said his son would fully cooperate with the Massachusetts US Attorney's Office's independent review of the matter.