Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/555971
photography by Conor Doherty (offiCe); DaviD L. ryan/The BosTon GloBe via getty images (famiLy) Democratic neighborhoods, Baker did better than expected in last year's election, helping him gain a slim margin of victory in a state where Republicans constitute less than 15 percent of voters and independents outstrip both parties. Baker's attention to parochial detail—along with not just a will- ingness but an eagerness to tell cornball ghost stories and unwind his lanky 6 -foot- 6 frame from the grass with a backward roll so he can roast s'mores with his pint-size hosts (his wife, Lauren, at his side)—says a lot about the Bay State's chief executive, the campaign he waged, and the kind of governor he wants to be: engaged, enthu- siastic, empathetic. "I'm a big believer in public ser v ice," says t he st ate's 72nd gover nor dur ing a n inter v iew in his St ate House off ice. "I've spent probably ha lf my professional career one way or another in public ser vice, and I hope people come away from any engagement they have with me feeling pretty good about pub- lic servants and what it's all about." Baker's infectious grip-and-grin style, punctuated by lots of high- fives and exclamations of "Awesome!," leaves little doubt that he takes to the job with all the fervor of a suburban dad volunteer. His eager plunge into t he Tw itter verse, full of self ies a nd att aboy exchanges, ref lects the same can-do character. As a former cabinet secretary under Governor William Weld and former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Baker knows that state government is teeming with challenges—whether improving public transit or balancing Massachusetts's $38 billion budget w it hout imposing new t a xes. L ike ma ny Bay State Republicans before him, Baker, 58, won t he off ice on a plat for m of ma nager ia l exper t ise and social liberalism as a pro-choice budget hawk who backs sa me-sex ma r r iage. But t he broader public got to know him as the calm eye in the center of the snowi- canes that battered the state during his first months in office. While the MBTA ran off the rails and drivers either slid off the road or battened dow n t he hatches at home, Ba ker delivered t he storm-center equivalent of FDR's fireside chats. His reassuring tone and presence, coupled with aggressive ef for t s to add ress t he publ ic t ra nspor t at ion meltdow n, helped boost his favor- ability level to an astounding 74 percent. "That was certainly a test, and I think we—and I would say 'we' because there were a lot of people who made a lot of decisions and did a lot of work—as an administration benefited from that," says Baker, sitting beneath an oil portrait of former governor John Volpe. He ticks off a list of equipment brought into the state to help cities and towns with snow removal, adding that "I will be mea su red on whet her or not we i mprove t he rel iabi l it y a nd dependability of the MBTA." In political terms, Baker's path to the corner office passed through his 2010 defeat to the popular incumbent, Governor Deval Patrick. After Patrick declined to run for a third term, Baker ran again, this top: Governor Baker in his office. bottom: Baker with daughter Caroline, wife Lauren, son Charlie, and former governor William Weld watching election results at the Seaport Boston Hotel. 68 bostoncommon-magazine.com PEOPLE View from the Top