| Joe Baca | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 43rd district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Ken Calvert |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 42nd district |
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| In office November 16, 1999 – January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | George Brown, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Gary Miller |
| Member of the California State Senate from the 32nd district |
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| In office 1998–1999 |
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| Preceded by | Ruben Ayala |
| Succeeded by | Nell Soto |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 62nd district |
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| In office 1992–1998 |
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| Preceded by | William H. Lancaster |
| Succeeded by | John Longville |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 23, 1947 Belen, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara Baca |
| Children | Joe Baca, Jr. Jeremy Baca Natalie Baca Jennifer Baca |
| Residence | Rialto, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | California State University, Los Angeles |
| Occupation | Public relations |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1966–1968 |
| Rank | Specialist |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Joseph N. "Joe" Baca (born January 23, 1947) is the U.S. Representative for California's 43rd congressional district, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 42nd from 1999 to 2003, is located in southwestern San Bernardino County and includes Fontana, Rialto, Ontario and parts of the city of San Bernardino.
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Baca was born in Belen, New Mexico in 1947, the youngest of 15 children in a primarily Spanish-speaking household.[1] His father was a railroad laborer.[1] The family moved to Barstow, California when Joe was young, where he shined shoes at age 10, delivered newspapers, and later worked as a laborer for the Santa Fe Railroad, until he was drafted in 1966. He served in the U.S. Army until 1968. He did not serve in Vietnam.[2]
Following military service, Baca attended Barstow Community College and went on to receive his bachelor's degree in sociology from California State University, Los Angeles.[3] He worked for 15 years in community relations with General Telephone and Electric. In 1979, he was the first Latino elected to the Board of Trustees for the San Bernardino Valley College District.[3] He was elected to the State Assembly in 1992,[1] and to the State Senate in 1998.[1]
He serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where he is a member of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, and the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. Rep. Baca also serves on the House Agriculture Committee, where he is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Departmental Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
Rep. Baca is the Chair of the CHC Corporate America Task Force, which aims to increase Hispanic representation in corporate America. He created and co-chairs the Congressional Sex and Violence in the Media Caucus. Other caucus memberships include the Congressional Diabetes Caucus, the Military/ Veterans Caucus, the Native American Caucus and the U.S.-Mexico Caucus.
Only a few months after Baca was elected to the state senate, Congressman George Brown, Jr., the longest-serving member of either house of Congress in California's history, died after a long illness. Baca finished first in a seven-way primary, but fell far short of a majority due to the presence of two minor Democratic candidates. In the runoff, Baca defeated Republican Elia Pirozzi with 50.4 percent of the vote. He won the seat in his own right in 2000 with 59 percent of the vote.
Brown had faced several unusually close races over the years and the state legislature had been looking to shore up the district even before his death. After the 2000 census, the district was renumbered as the 43rd and reconfigured as a majority-Hispanic district. Baca was handily reelected from this redrawn district in 2002 and has not faced substantive opposition since.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Baca, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, directed Caucus funds from its PAC[5] BOLDPAC (Building Our Leadership Diversity)[6] to the unsuccessful California campaigns of his sons, Joe Baca, Jr. and Jeremy Baca.[7] At the time, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) and five other members dropped out of the PAC in protest of these actions.[5] They alleged that the funds, meant to elect Hispanic candidates, should not have been used to help Baca's sons run against Hispanic candidates and that in a previous race funded by the PAC, Joe Jr. had run against Hispanic candidates.[6]
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a report stating that Rep. Baca had paid his daughter $27,000 from campaign funds and donated more than $20,000 to his sons' political campaigns from his own campaign funds.[8] They also report accusations that were made in 2006 by former members of Baca's Washington staff that they were sent to California in 2004 for a staff retreat and pressured to work on Joe Baca, Jr.'s campaign for the state Assembly on their paid time for the senior Baca.[1]
In January 2007, fellow Hispanic Caucus members including Loretta Sanchez, Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Hilda Solis (D-CA) and Sanchez's sister Linda Sánchez (D-CA) wrote a letter to Baca asking for a new election with a secret ballot. They claimed that Baca was elected chair of the Caucus in a public ballot, despite Caucus rules for electing a chair that require a secret ballot election.[7]
On January 31, 2007, The Politico reported that Rep. Baca had called Loretta Sanchez a "whore." Citing Baca's alleged insult and the perceived impropriety in Baca's election to chairman of the CHC, as well as Baca's treatment of Latina members in the CHC, Loretta Sanchez resigned from the Caucus along with her sister, three other female California members and one female member from Arizona.[7] Rep. Baca has denied making the insult.[9]
Rep. Loretta Sanchez and Rep. Solis alleged that Rep. Baca made the remark in the summer of 2006. The two congresswomen state that they heard the remark from unnamed sources, although The Politico identified California State Assemblyman Fabian Núñez as one of those who heard the insult firsthand and told Loretta Sanchez.[10] She said that Baca confirmed the comments to her sister Linda Sánchez the day before Loretta Sanchez confronted him over the accusation.[5]
Baca and his wife, Barbara, began their own business, Interstate World Travel, in San Bernardino in 1989. They have four children: Joe Jr., Jeremy, Natalie and Jennifer. Son Joe Baca, Jr. served one term as state assemblyman for California's 62nd district, marking the first time a father and son have served from the same California legislative district.
Rep. Baca has received many honors for his public service. Recent awards include the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President's Achievement Award, the 2006 California Hunger Fighter Award (first time awarded to a Member of Congress), and the National Farmers Union Presidential Award for Leadership. He has also had two local parks named after him: the Joe Baca Senior Field at the Empire Center in Fontana and the Joe Baca Field at the Rialto Boys and Girls Club.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William H. Lancaster |
California State Assembly, 62nd District 1992–1998 |
Succeeded by John Longville |
| Preceded by Ruben Ayala |
California State Senate, 32nd District 1998–1999 |
Succeeded by Nell Soto |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by George Brown, Jr. |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 42nd congressional district 1999–2003 |
Succeeded by Gary Miller |
| Preceded by Ken Calvert |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 43rd congressional district 2003–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Greg Walden R-Oregon |
United States Representatives by seniority 162nd |
Succeeded by Charles Bass R-New Hampshire |
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