Catharine Bailey Baker (born May 1, 1971) is an American attorney and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from California. Baker was a Republican member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

from 2014 to 2018. She has served on the

California Fair Political Practices Commission The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) of California is a five-member independent nonpartisan commission that has primary responsibility for the impartial and effective administration of the Political Reform Act of 1974. The Commission's o ...

(the state's

ethics commission In the United States, an Ethics Commission is a commission established by State law or county or city ordinance to investigate dishonest or unethical practices by public employees and elected officials. See also * California Fair Political Pract ...

) since 2021.

Early life and education

Baker was born as Catharine Ann Bailey in

Cathedral City, California Cathedral City, colloquially known as "Cat City", is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. Situated between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, the city has the second larg ...

. In 1993, Baker earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. In 2000, Baker earned a JD degree in Law from

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

Legal career

In 2000, Baker started her legal career as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for the Honorable

Alicemarie Huber Stotler Alicemarie Huber Stotler (May 29, 1942 – June 9, 2014) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Education and career Born in Alhambra, California, Stotler, who was of Ger ...

, a judge for the

United States District Court for the Central District of California The United States District Court for the Central District of California (in case citations, C.D. Cal.; commonly referred to as the CDCA or CACD) is a Federal trial court that serves over 19 million people in Southern and Central California, m ...

. In 2001, Baker practiced law as an attorney at

Morrison & Foerster LLP Morrison & Foerster LLP (also known as MoFo) is an American multinational law firm headquartered in San Francisco, California, with 17 offices located throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. The firm has over 1,000 lawyers who advise cli ...

until 2011. In 2011, Baker practiced law as an attorney at Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel.

California State Assembly

On November 4, 2014, Baker won the election and became a Republican member of California State Assembly for

District 16 16th district may refer to: France * 16th arrondissement of Marseille *16th arrondissement of Paris United States Congressional districts *California's 16th congressional district *Florida's 16th congressional district *Illinois's 16th co ...

, which encompasses

Lamorinda Lamorinda is an area within Contra Costa County, California in the United States. The name is a portmanteau from the names of the three cities that make up the region: Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda. Lamorinda sits east of the Berkeley Hills ...

and the

Tri-Valley The Tri-Valley area is grouping of three valleys in the East Bay (California), East Bay region of California's San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area. The three valleys are Amador Valley, San Ramon Valley, and Livermore Valley. The Tri-Valley encompass ...

region of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. Baker defeated

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

City Councilman Tim Sbranti with 51.6% of the votes. On November 8, 2016, as an incumbent, Baker won the election and continued serving District 16. Baker defeated

Pleasanton Pleasanton may refer to: Places * Pleasanton, California * Pleasanton, Iowa * Pleasanton, Kansas * Pleasanton, Nebraska * Pleasanton, New Mexico * Pleasanton, Ohio * Pleasanton, Texas * Pleasanton Township, Michigan Other * Pleasanton High School ...

City Councilwoman Cheryl Cook-Kallio with 55.9% of the vote. On November 6, 2018, as an incumbent, Baker sought a third term but narrowly lost the election with 49% of the votes. Baker was defeated by attorney

Rebecca Bauer-Kahan Rebecca Beth Bauer-Kahan (née Bauer; born October 28, 1978), also known by her initials RBK, is an American attorney and politician who has served as a member of the California State Assembly from the California's 16th State Assembly district, ...

. During her time in office, Baker was the only Republican to represent any portion of the Bay Area at either the federal or the state level. A piece of legislation she authored was AB 434: State Web accessibility which came in effect on July 1, 2019.

Electoral history

2014 California State Assembly

2016 California State Assembly

2018 California State Assembly

Awards

* 2017 NFWL Elected Women of Excellence award. Presented by

National Foundation for Women Legislators National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt foundation established by the National Order of Women Legislators (NOWL) in the USA. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the nort ...

(November 14, 2017). * 2017 California School Boards Association (CSBA) Legislator of the Year. * 2017 We The People Award. Presented by California Common Cause. * California Distinguished Advocacy Award. Presented by

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. It was founded in September 2001 to directly lobby the goals of the American Cancer Society, which is subj ...

. * Crime Victims United Legislator of the Year. * March of Dimes Legislative Champion Award.

Post-Assembly career

After leaving the California State Assembly, Baker has returned to private practice as an attorney, and is currently Special Counsel at Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel, advising businesses and non-profit organizations. In August 2019, Baker joined the board of Livermore Lab Foundation, a nonprofit organization, and was named the President of Diablo Regional Arts Association. In December 2020, State Controller

Betty Yee Betty T. Yee (born October 19, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who has served as California State Controller since 2015. She previously served as a member of the California Board of Equalization from 2004 to 201 ...

appointed Baker to a seat on the five-member

for a four-year term beginning in January 2021.

Personal life

Baker's husband is Dan Baker. They have two children. Baker and her family live in

Dublin, California Dublin (formerly, Dougherty, Alameda County, California, Amador and Dougherty's Station) is a suburban city of the East Bay in California. It is located within the Amador Valley of Alameda County, California, Alameda County's Tri-Valley region. ...

References

External links

Campaign website

Catharine Baker at ballotpedia.org

Catharine Baker at legislature.ca.gov

Catharine Baker on AB249 at yesfairelections.org

Catharine Baker at votersedge.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Catharine 1971 births Living people California lawyers Republican Party members of the California State Assembly Women state legislators in California UC Berkeley School of Law alumni University of Chicago alumni People from Dublin, California People from Cathedral City, California 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians