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Linda Baker

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Linda Baker
Member of the Maine Senate
from the 23rd district
In office
2014–2016
Preceded byEloise Vitelli
Succeeded byEloise Vitelli
Personal details
Born1948 (age 75–76)
Political partyRepublican
OccupationTeacher

Linda L. Baker (born 1948) is an American schoolteacher and politician from Maine. Baker, a Republican from Topsham, Maine, represented District 23 in the Maine Senate from 2014 to 2016. District 23 encompasses all of Sagadahoc County, Maine and the adjacent town of Dresden.

Baker taught in public schools for 31 years, including 26 at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham. She also spent eight years on the Topsham Finance Committee and 3 years as a selectwoman on the Topsham Town Council.[1]

Background

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In 2014, Baker ran against incumbent State Senator Eloise Vitelli.[1] Vitelli had beaten former state senator Paula Benoit in a special election the year before.[1] Ultimately, despite being outspent substantially by outside groups,[2] Baker bested Vitelli by 1,036 votes.[3]

As a Senator, Baker served as Chairwoman of the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources, the first Senator from Sagadahoc to chair the committee in decades.[4] She was also a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services.[5] As a first term Senator, Baker proposed a bill to tie legislative pay to attendance.[6] The bill ultimately passed the legislature with widespread bipartisan support[7] and became law without the Governor's signature.[7] Baker also received praise for "noteworthy action[8]" from the Maine League of Conservation Voters for co-sponsoring the bipartisan Kids Safe Products Act which would dealt with toxic chemicals.[8]

In June 2016, Baker faced Guy Lebida of Bowdoin, Maine in the Republican primary for Senate District 23. Lebida, who was endorsed by Republican Governor Paul LePage, bested Baker by just 40 votes of out approximately 2,100 cast. Baker did not request a recount.[9] Lebida was later defeated by Eloise Vitelli by over 1,300 votes.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Crosby, Craig (October 15, 2014). "Three square off in Maine Senate District 23". Kennebec Journal. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  2. ^ "Outside groups spend $14 million on Maine state elections | State & Capitol". 3 November 2014. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  3. ^ "Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections and Voting, Results, 2014 Tabulations". maine.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  4. ^ "Maine Legislature: Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources". legislature.maine.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  5. ^ "Maine Legislature: Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services". legislature.maine.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  6. ^ Thistle, Scott; Journal, Sun (7 April 2015). "Topsham lawmaker wants to dock pay of absent legislators". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  7. ^ a b "Summary". legislature.maine.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  8. ^ a b "2015 Beyond the Roll Calls » Maine Conservation Voters". www.mlcv.org. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  9. ^ Cousins, Christopher (June 15, 2016). "Maine primaries are over, let the recounts begin". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections and Voting, Results, 2014 Tabulations".


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