Richard Hugh Baker (born May 22, 1948) is an American politician and
lobbyist
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
. He served as a member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from 1987 to 2008,
[Baker departs public office](_blank)
/ref> representing the 6th District of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
as a Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
.
Early life and career
The son of a Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
minister, Baker was born in and graduated from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
in Baton Rouge. He stayed in Baton Rouge after graduation and founded a real estate
Real estate is 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 (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
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
A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
district in Baton Rouge and served eight terms. He became chairman of the Transportation Committee.
Congressional career
In 1986, Baker switched to the Republicans because of a long-running feud with Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Edwin Edwards. 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
John Berlinger Breaux (; born March 1, 1944) is an American lobbyist, attorney, and retired politician who was a member of the United States Senate from Louisiana from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the U.S. House of Representatives f ...
). 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 Thomas H. Hudson (45 percent) and Willis Blackwell, Sr.(4 percent). He became the fourth Republican to represent Louisiana in Congress since Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
and the second to win an undisputed victory in a contested election. He was reelected without opposition in 1988 and 1990. Baker quickly compiled a 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 (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting pro ...
, a progressive think tank.
In 1992, however, Louisiana lost a congressional seat as a result of reapportionment after the 1990 Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
. Clyde C. Holloway of Forest Hill in Rapides Parish
Rapides Parish () (french: Paroisse des Rapides) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,613. The parish seat is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. ''Rapides ...
, who had represented the Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
-based 8th District, was placed into Baker's district. Holloway had been elected along with Baker in 1986. Holloway led in the jungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party ...
with 37 percent. Baker received 33 percent and Democrat Ned Randolph, then the mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
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
Livingston Parish (Louisiana French: ''La Paroisse Livingston'') is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its parish seat is the town of Livingston. Livingston Parish is one of the Florida Parishes, a region which, unlike the rest of the sta ...
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, in 1998 Baker faced Marjorie McKeithen, daughter of longtime Republican Louisiana Secretary of State W. Fox McKeithen and granddaughter of Democratic former Governor John McKeithen
John Julian McKeithen (May 28, 1918 – June 4, 1999) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th governor of Louisiana from 1964 to 1972.
Early life
McKeithen was born in Grayson, Louisiana on May 28, 1918. His father was a ...
. 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
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, 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
Pointe Coupee Parish ( or ; french: Paroisse de la Pointe-Coupée) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,802; in 2020, its population was 20,758. The parish seat is New Roads.
Pointe ...
, 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 percent 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
The standing committee, standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new Act of Congress, bills or amendments concerning U.S. military veteran ...
.
Hurricane Katrina
According to ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', Baker caused some controversy in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when he was overheard telling lobbyist
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
s: "We finally cleaned up public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
did." Baker, a longtime 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.
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.
Resignation
On January 15, 2008, Baker announced his intention to resign from Congress to take a lobbying position with the Managed Funds Association
The Managed Funds Association is a Washington, DC-based industry group that represents prominent hedge funds like D. E. Shaw, Renaissance Technologies, Tiger Management and Third Point. The association is considered one of the most powerful trad ...
. He left office on February 2, 2008. This triggered a special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
, won by Democrat Don Cazayoux
Donald J. Cazayoux Jr. (; born January 17, 1964) is an American lawyer and former politician. He served as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana from 2010 to 2013. From 2008 to 2009, he was a Democratic United States ...
, who defeated Republican and former Democrat Woody Jenkins
Louis Elwood Jenkins Jr., known as Woody Jenkins (born January 3, 1947), is a newspaper editor in Baton Rouge and Central City, Louisiana, who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 2000 and waged three unsucc ...
. Cazayoux was defeated in the regular election later in 2008 by Republican Bill Cassidy, who later became the state's senior U.S. senator.
See also
* List of American politicians who switched parties in office
The following American politicians switched parties while they were holding elected office.
Federal
State
Local
See also
* List of Canadian politicians who have crossed the floor
* List of elected British politicians who have chang ...
References
External links
*
2001 Statement by Chairwoman Sue Kelly of the Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigation during hearing requested by Baker to look into HANO mismanagement of New Orleans Public Housing.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Richard
1948 births
Living people
Louisiana Democrats
Louisiana State University alumni
Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Politicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Politicians from New Orleans
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana
21st-century American politicians
American United Methodists