Richard Baker (politician)
Encyclopedia
Richard Hugh Baker an American
politician
,
is a lobbyist and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives
, having represented the 6th District
of Louisiana
from 1987 to 2008.
in Baton Rouge. He stayed in Baton Rouge after graduation and founded a real estate
agency there. In 1971, just a year out of school, he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives
as a Democrat from a predominantly blue-collar
district in Baton Rouge and served eight terms, eventually becoming chairman of the Transportation Committee.
. Soon afterwards, 6th District Republican Congressman Henson Moore
, announced that he was running for the Senate
seat being vacated by the retiring Russell B. Long
. (Moore was defeated in that race by 7th District Democratic Congressman John Breaux
). Moore encouraged Baker to run for the seat, which is based in Baton Rouge and includes most of that city's suburbs. Baker (51 percent) defeated Democrats Tommy Hudson (45 percent) and Willis Blackwell (4 percent), becoming the fourth Republican to represent Louisiana in Congress since Reconstruction--but the second to win an undisputed victory in a contested election. He was reelected without opposition in 1988 and 1990. Baker quickly compiled a very conservative voting record, in marked contrast to his Democratic roots, as evidenced by Baker's lifetime rating of 0.5 from Americans for Democratic Action
, a progressive think tank.
In 1992, however, Louisiana lost a congressional seat as a result of reapportionment after the 1990 Census
. Clyde C. Holloway
of Forest Hill
in Rapides Parish, who had represented the Alexandria
-based 8th District, was placed into Baker's district. Holloway had been elected along with Baker in 1986. Holloway led in the jungle primary
with 37 percent. Baker received 33 percent and Democrat Ned Randolph
, then the mayor
of Alexandria, received 30 percent. In the November general election
, Holloway won 15 of the district's 17 parishes. Baker, however, crushed Holloway in the two largest parishes, Livingston Parish and his home base, East Baton Rouge Parish. This was enough to defeat Holloway by some 2,700 votes overall.
After being unopposed in 1994 and 1996, Baker faced Marjorie McKeithen, daughter
of longtime Republican Louisiana Secretary of State Fox McKeithen
and granddaughter of former Democratic Governor John McKeithen. Court-ordered redistricting
before the 1996 elections had drawn considerably more blacks into the district than Baker had previously represented. Amid a nationwide backlash against Republicans for what was seen as overzealous behavior during the impeachment
of Bill Clinton
, Baker just barely held onto his seat by about one thousand votes, narrowly avoiding a runoff. He had a much easier time in 2000, winning 68 percent of the vote. Redistricting took some Democratic voters out of his district, including part of Pointe Coupee Parish, which helped Baker win against no major-party opposition in 2002 and two weak Democrats in 2004. In 2006 his only challenger was Libertarian Richard M. Fontanesi, and Baker won with 82% of the vote.
Baker was a former chairman of the House Financial Services Capital Markets Subcommittee, and served as its ranking Republican from 2007 to 2008. He was also a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
.
, Baker caused some controversy in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
when he was overheard telling lobbyists: "We finally cleaned up public housing
in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God
did." Baker, a long time critic of the Housing Authority of New Orleans and the living conditions in New Orleans public housing, confirmed the quote and explained that his comment reflected his hope that the storm will provide an opportunity to move New Orleans's poor from decrepit public housing and into clean and safe housing. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/09/AR2005090901930.html
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Baker proposed a plan to rebuild Louisiana. Commonly known as "The Baker Plan," Baker introduced legislation to create the Louisiana Recovery Corporation. The LRC would have been initially financed by the issuance of federal government bonds and would use the funds to buy properties from homeowners and business in the most devastated areas of the state. The LRC would then clean the property and sell clean titles to developers, who would then redevelop the properties in accordance with plans developed by the local governments and civic groups. The proceeds of the sales to the developers would have been used to repay the bonds used to initial finance the LRC, paying the government back for their initial loan. The homeowners would have had the option to accept the buyout and walk away, accept the buyout and retain an option to return, or refuse to sell and repair their property themselves. On the advice of Recovery Tsar Donald E. Powell
, President Bush killed the LRC when he publicly announced his opposition to the bill.
, won by Democrat Don Cazayoux
, who defeated Republican and former Democrat Woody Jenkins
. Cazayoux was defeated in the regular election later in 2008 by Republican Bill Cassidy
.
On February 2, the day of Baker's resignation from Congress, he and former congressional opponent Ned Randolph
were inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
in Winnfield
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
,
is a lobbyist and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, having represented the 6th District
Louisiana's 6th congressional district
Louisiana's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located in south-central Louisiana, the district contains the state capital of Baton Rouge and its suburbs and the western half of the Florida Parishes and areas west and south of Baton Rouge...
of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
from 1987 to 2008.
Early life and career
The son of a Methodist minister, Baker was born in New Orleans and graduated from Louisiana State UniversityLouisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge. He stayed in Baton Rouge after graduation and founded a real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
agency there. In 1971, just a year out of school, he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
as a Democrat from a predominantly blue-collar
Blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
district in Baton Rouge and served eight terms, eventually becoming chairman of the Transportation Committee.
Congressional career
In 1986, Baker switched to the Republicans because of a long-running feud with Governor Edwin EdwardsEdwin Edwards
Edwin Washington Edwards served as the Governor of Louisiana for four terms , twice as many terms as any other Louisiana chief executive has served. Edwards was also Louisiana's first Roman Catholic governor in the 20th century...
. Soon afterwards, 6th District Republican Congressman Henson Moore
Henson Moore
William Henson Moore III , is a retired attorney and businessman who is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, having represented the Baton Rouge-based Sixth Congressional District, from 1975-1987. He is only the second Republican to have represented Louisiana in the House since...
, announced that he was running for the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat being vacated by the retiring Russell B. Long
Russell B. Long
Russell Billiu Long was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987.-Early life:...
. (Moore was defeated in that race by 7th District Democratic Congressman John Breaux
John Breaux
John Berlinger Breaux is a former United States senator from Louisiana who served from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1972 to 1987. He was considered one of the more conservative national legislators from the Democratic Party...
). Moore encouraged Baker to run for the seat, which is based in Baton Rouge and includes most of that city's suburbs. Baker (51 percent) defeated Democrats Tommy Hudson (45 percent) and Willis Blackwell (4 percent), becoming the fourth Republican to represent Louisiana in Congress since Reconstruction--but the second to win an undisputed victory in a contested election. He was reelected without opposition in 1988 and 1990. Baker quickly compiled a very conservative voting record, in marked contrast to his Democratic roots, as evidenced by Baker's lifetime rating of 0.5 from Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action is an American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA works for social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research and supporting progressive candidates.-History:...
, a progressive think tank.
In 1992, however, Louisiana lost a congressional seat as a result of reapportionment after the 1990 Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
. Clyde C. Holloway
Clyde C. Holloway
Clyde Cecil Holloway is an American small business owner from Forest Hill in the southern part of Rapides Parish who is one of five members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission. He also served as a conservative Republican member of the U.S...
of Forest Hill
Forest Hill, Louisiana
Forest Hill is a village in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 456 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Forest Hill is located at ....
in Rapides Parish, who had represented the Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
-based 8th District, was placed into Baker's district. Holloway had been elected along with Baker in 1986. Holloway led in the jungle primary
Jungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party. Under this system, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the next round, as in a runoff election...
with 37 percent. Baker received 33 percent and Democrat Ned Randolph
Ned Randolph
Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr. , is a veteran Democratic politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria in central Louisiana from 1986 to 2006. Randolph was also a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 1976 and the Louisiana State Senate from 1976 to 1984...
, then the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Alexandria, received 30 percent. In the November general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, Holloway won 15 of the district's 17 parishes. Baker, however, crushed Holloway in the two largest parishes, Livingston Parish and his home base, East Baton Rouge Parish. This was enough to defeat Holloway by some 2,700 votes overall.
After being unopposed in 1994 and 1996, Baker faced Marjorie McKeithen, daughter
Daughter
A daughter is a female offspring; a girl, woman, or female animal in relation to her parents. The male equivalent is a son. Analogously the name is used on several areas to show relations between groups or elements.-Etymology:...
of longtime Republican Louisiana Secretary of State Fox McKeithen
W. Fox McKeithen
Walter Fox McKeithen served five terms as Secretary of State of Louisiana between 1988 and 2005. He is best remembered for merging the state's election divisions into one department and for the promotion of historical preservation.-Son of a governor:He was born Walter Fox McKeithen in Columbia in...
and granddaughter of former Democratic Governor John McKeithen. Court-ordered redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
before the 1996 elections had drawn considerably more blacks into the district than Baker had previously represented. Amid a nationwide backlash against Republicans for what was seen as overzealous behavior during the impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Baker just barely held onto his seat by about one thousand votes, narrowly avoiding a runoff. He had a much easier time in 2000, winning 68 percent of the vote. Redistricting took some Democratic voters out of his district, including part of Pointe Coupee Parish, which helped Baker win against no major-party opposition in 2002 and two weak Democrats in 2004. In 2006 his only challenger was Libertarian Richard M. Fontanesi, and Baker won with 82% of the vote.
Baker was a former chairman of the House Financial Services Capital Markets Subcommittee, and served as its ranking Republican from 2007 to 2008. He was also a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
The standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new bills or amendments concerning veterans. Jurisdiction includes retiring and disability pensions, life insurance, education , vocational...
.
Hurricane Katrina
According to The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, Baker caused some controversy in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
when he was overheard telling lobbyists: "We finally cleaned up public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
did." Baker, a long time critic of the Housing Authority of New Orleans and the living conditions in New Orleans public housing, confirmed the quote and explained that his comment reflected his hope that the storm will provide an opportunity to move New Orleans's poor from decrepit public housing and into clean and safe housing. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/09/AR2005090901930.html
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Baker proposed a plan to rebuild Louisiana. Commonly known as "The Baker Plan," Baker introduced legislation to create the Louisiana Recovery Corporation. The LRC would have been initially financed by the issuance of federal government bonds and would use the funds to buy properties from homeowners and business in the most devastated areas of the state. The LRC would then clean the property and sell clean titles to developers, who would then redevelop the properties in accordance with plans developed by the local governments and civic groups. The proceeds of the sales to the developers would have been used to repay the bonds used to initial finance the LRC, paying the government back for their initial loan. The homeowners would have had the option to accept the buyout and walk away, accept the buyout and retain an option to return, or refuse to sell and repair their property themselves. On the advice of Recovery Tsar Donald E. Powell
Donald E. Powell
Donald E. Powell became the 18th Chairman of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on August 29, 2001, and served through late 2005. He resigned to become Federal Coordinator of Gulf Coast recovery efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.Prior to being named Chairman of the FDIC by...
, President Bush killed the LRC when he publicly announced his opposition to the bill.
Resignation
On January 15, 2008, Baker announced his intention to resign from Congress to take a lobbying position with the Managed Funds Association. He left office on February 2, 2008. This triggered a special electionLouisiana's 6th congressional district special election, 2008
The February 2, 2008 resignation of Republican Richard Baker triggered a special election for Louisiana's 6th district. In anticipation of this election, party qualifying occurred before Baker's resignation. The timeline mirrored that of the 2008 special election for the 1st congressional district...
, won by Democrat Don Cazayoux
Don Cazayoux
Donald J. 'Don' Cazayoux, Jr. is a former Democratic U.S. Representative from Louisiana's 6th congressional district. He is currently US Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana....
, who defeated Republican and former Democrat Woody Jenkins
Woody Jenkins
Louis Elwood "Woody" Jenkins is a newspaper editor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972–2000 and waged three unsuccessful races for the United States Senate....
. Cazayoux was defeated in the regular election later in 2008 by Republican Bill Cassidy
Bill Cassidy
William "Bill" Cassidy is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...
.
On February 2, the day of Baker's resignation from Congress, he and former congressional opponent Ned Randolph
Ned Randolph
Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr. , is a veteran Democratic politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria in central Louisiana from 1986 to 2006. Randolph was also a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 1976 and the Louisiana State Senate from 1976 to 1984...
were inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, highlights the careers of more than a hundred of the state’s leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long, Jr., Oscar K...
in Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
.
External links
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Richard Baker profile
- In 1996, Baker Requested GAO Report on HANO Mismanagement of New Orleans Public Housing.
- 2001 Statement by Chairwoman Sue Kelly of the Subcommitte on Oversight & Investigation during hearing requested by Baker to look into HANO mismanagement of New Orleans Public Housing.
- http://www.cityofwinnfield.com/museum.html