John Baldacci

John Elias Baldacci (born January 30, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of Maine from 2003 until 2011. A Democrat, he also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003.

Early life and political career

Born in Bangor, Maine, Baldacci grew up with seven siblings in a Lebanese-Italian family. As a child, he worked in the family business, Mama Baldacci's ^[1] restaurant in Bangor. A 1973 graduate of Bangor High School, he received a B.S. degree in History from the University of Maine at Orono in 1986.^[2]

Baldacci was first elected to public office in 1978 at the age of 23, when he served on the Bangor City Council. He continued in politics, winning election to the Maine Senate in 1982. Baldacci served as a State Senator for 12 years.^[2]

United States House of Representatives

In 1994, following the retirement of his cousin, United States Senator George J. Mitchell, Baldacci won election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's Second District, replacing Olympia Snowe, who had moved on to Mitchell's open Senate seat. He was reelected to Congress in the elections of 1996, 1998, and 2000, serving on the House Agriculture Committee and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Governor of Maine

2002 election

A Democrat, Baldacci was first elected in the 2002 Maine gubernatorial election with 47% of the vote, defeating Republican candidate Peter Cianchette, who garnered 41% of the vote, Green Independent nominee Jonathan Carter, who received 9%, and unenrolled former Democrat John Michael, who received 2%. Baldacci was sworn in as Maine's Governor on January 8, 2003. In 2006, Baldacci won re-election from a field of four major candidates. As Governor, he is a member of the National Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association.

First term

After being elected, Baldacci attempted to fill a $1.2 billion deficit. This was done through budget cuts and fee increases. Baldacci refused to raise broad based taxes, honoring a campaign pledge.

Baldacci also established a state-funded health care program known as Dirigo Health. The program offers subsidized health care to individuals and Maine businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Individuals in the system enjoy unlimited preventive care. The program is funded by taxes levied on health insurance companies. Critics claim that it raises health care costs and drives insurers out of the state. Proponents claim that the preventive care eventually lowers health care costs. The Baldacci administration maintains the program can be fixed with more taxpayer money.

In 2004, Baldacci signed executive order 13 FY 04/05 titled "An Order Concerning Access to State Services By All Entitled Maine Residents", which, among other things, prohibited state employees from inquiring about immigration status when people apply for public assistance or services.^[3] Due to this executive order, his political opponents have labeled Maine a "sanctuary state" for illegal immigrants.^[4]

In 2005, Baldacci introduced legislation to expand Maine's civil rights law to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. This legislation in Maine had been defeated via referendum by voters two times before. The law passed, but opponents of the law initiated a referendum to overturn the law. Voters upheld the new law.

Baldacci is a supporter of regionalization, a sometimes contentious policy of merging local-government services to save money on administrative costs. While Baldacci has had some success with regionalizing local government, it has often come under fire from rural lawmakers who view the process as weakening their communities.^[5]

2006 election

Baldacci ran for reelection in 2006, facing opposition from Republican Chandler Woodcock, Independents Barbara Merrill and Phillip Napier, and Green Independent Party candidate Pat LaMarche.

Democratic-leaning voters had a wide array of choices. Merrill, who was elected to her state house seat as a Democrat, Woodcock, and LaMarche received money from Maine's Clean Elections law. Merrill and LaMarche were generally seen as taking votes from Baldacci, while Woodcock's socially conservative position prompted many longtime Republicans to throw their votes to Baldacci, Merrill, or LaMarche.

Baldacci won the election with 38% of the vote. Woodcock placed second with 30%. Merrill received a surprising 21%, narrowly defeating Baldacci among unenrolled voters. LaMarche finished with 10%, enough to maintain ballot access for the Green Party.

Second term

Governor Baldacci was inaugurated on January 3, 2007 in Augusta. During his inaugural speech, Baldacci reaffirmed his controversial goal to combine Maine's 152 school districts into only 26.

Shortly after beginning his second term, his biennial budget proposal included consolidating Maine's 152 school districts into 26 Regional School Units. Baldacci claims that the proposal will reduce bureaucratic redundancy and make more money available for classrooms. Critics contend it reduces local control. Debate over the proposal continues, with the Legislature initially appearing to favor a compromise proposal that would reduce the number of districts, but not as radically as proposed by Baldacci, and with exceptions for island schools and high achieving districts.

Also as part of his biennial budget proposal Baldacci proposed a controversial cigarette tax of an additional $1.50 per pack, which would bring Maine's tax to the highest cigarette tax in the nation at $3.50 in tax per pack.

Word has emerged that Governor Baldacci had a private meeting with Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg in the midst of Verizon's significantly challenged sale of its Maine (and two other states) landlines to Fairpoint Communications.^[6] Details about the meeting have been sketchy. The deal has been termed the most significant for Maine's PUC in decades.

In February 2008, Baldacci hosted an official visit to Maine by Premier of New Brunswick, Shawn Graham, which was the first official visit to Maine by an incumbent head of a Canadian province. In his visit Graham addressed a joint session of the Maine Legislature in which he proposed increasing cross-border trade, tourism, transportation as well as additional co-operation on energy and education.^[7]

In the 2008 Democratic Presidential primary Baldacci, as a superdelegate, pledged his support for Hillary Clinton^[8] despite Barack Obama winning the state's Democratic Presidential Primary. By June 2008, it was clear that Obama would be the nominee and he announced his support for Obama.

On May 6, 2009, Governor Baldacci signed legislation legalizing Same-sex marriage in Maine.^[9] This made him the first governor ever in the U.S. to sign a same-sex marriage bill into law where it was not previously court ordered. (The Governor of Connecticut, Mary Jodi Rell, had been the first to sign a bill codifying same-sex marriage into law on April 23, 2009.) Maine's legalization of same-sex marriage was narrowly overturned by a statewide referendum vote on November 3, 2009.

Baldacci's term ended in January 2011 and he was replaced by Republican Paul LePage.

Personal life and family

Baldacci is a Roman Catholic. He lived with his wife Karen and son Jack in the Blaine House in Augusta, while governor.

In Washington as U.S. representative, Baldacci resided for four years in the C Street house of The Fellowship church with other lawmakers. Though considerable controversy came to surround the institution,^[10] Baldacci dismissed questions about it in 2003, calling it "a cheap rent."^[11]

Baldacci is a first cousin once removed of former Maine senator and majority leader George J. Mitchell and a second cousin of author David Baldacci. In addition, he is also related to State Representative Chris Greeley, who like Baldacci and Mitchell, is half-Lebanese. His wife Karen was the head of Maine Reads, a nonprofit umbrella organization for Read With ME, privately funded by Verizon. Karen now works as a registered dietitian (RD) at the Supplemental Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC) in Bangor.

He holds a technician class amateur radio license with call sign KB1NXP.

Electoral history

References

External links

• John Baldacci at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs