John Baldacci facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Baldacci
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| 73rd Governor of Maine | |
| In office January 8, 2003 – January 5, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Angus King |
| Succeeded by | Paul LePage |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 2nd district |
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| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Olympia Snowe |
| Succeeded by | Mike Michaud |
| Member of the Maine Senate from the 9th district |
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| In office December 1982 – December 1994 |
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| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Sean Faircloth |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Elias Baldacci
January 30, 1955 Bangor, Maine, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Karen Baldacci |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of Maine (BA) |
| Signature |  |
John Elias Baldacci (born January 30, 1955) is an American politician. He served as the 73rd Governor of Maine from 2003 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming governor, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003.
As governor, Baldacci worked to improve healthcare, energy, and education. He also focused on training people for jobs. In Congress, he was part of committees that dealt with farming and transportation. Today, he helps lead a group that researches ways to improve states in the Northeast and Midwest.
Contents
Early Life and Start in Politics
John Baldacci was born in Bangor, Maine. He grew up in a big family with seven brothers and sisters. His family had Italian and Lebanese roots. As a child, he helped out at his family's restaurant, Momma Baldacci's.
He finished Bangor High School in 1973. Later, in 1986, he earned a history degree from the University of Maine in Orono.
Baldacci started his political career young. In 1978, at age 23, he was elected to the Bangor City Council. This council helps run the city. In 1982, he was elected to the Maine Senate, which makes laws for the state. He served there for 12 years.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
In 1994, John Baldacci was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. This is part of the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. He represented Maine's Second District.
He won his first election closely. But after that, he was reelected three times easily. He served on important committees. These included the House Agriculture Committee, which deals with farming, and the House Transportation Committee, which handles roads and travel.
Governor of Maine
As governor, John Baldacci worked on many important issues for the state of Maine.
Becoming Governor in 2002
John Baldacci was first elected governor in 2002. He won with 47% of the votes. He became Maine's governor on January 8, 2003. In 2006, he was reelected for a second term. As governor, he was part of groups with other state governors.
First Term as Governor
When Baldacci first became governor, Maine faced a large money problem. He worked to fix this by cutting costs and combining state services. He did not raise general taxes, keeping a promise he made during his campaign.
He helped create several big programs:
- Dirigo Health: This program helped people and small businesses get health insurance. It focused on helping people get check-ups and stay healthy.
- Maine Community College System: He changed technical colleges into community colleges. This meant they offered more courses and programs. Students could also transfer credits to the University of Maine system. This helped more people get higher education.
- Pine Tree Development Zones (PTDZ): This program aimed to bring new jobs to Maine. It offered tax breaks to businesses that created jobs in certain areas.
In 2005, Baldacci supported a law to protect people from unfair treatment based on their sexual orientation. Voters in Maine had rejected similar laws before. This time, the law passed, and voters later chose to keep it.
He also supported "regionalization." This means combining local government services to save money.
Second Term as Governor
John Baldacci started his second term on January 3, 2007. He continued to work on making Maine stronger. He focused on improving the economy and making government services more efficient. He also worked to ensure everyone had access to good education, job training, and healthcare. Even during a tough economic time in 2008, he did not raise state income taxes. He left office with money saved for the state.
One of his goals was to combine school administration districts. This helped save money by reducing duplicated jobs. The savings could then be used to help classrooms.
In 2007, Baldacci suggested moving some prisoners to another state to reduce crowding in Maine's prisons. This idea was not approved by the state's lawmakers.
Baldacci strongly promoted using clean energy. Maine homes used a lot of oil for heating. His programs encouraged using wood pellets, which are made in Maine. He also supported wind, solar, and wave power. He helped create new goals for renewable energy in the state. Research at the University of Maine on floating wind turbines even got attention from the U.S. Department of Energy.
He also brought leaders from the region together to work on energy plans. Maine joined a group of East Coast states called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. This program helps reduce pollution and has brought money to Maine for energy-saving projects.
Throughout his time as governor, Baldacci supported efforts to increase research and development in Maine. These projects helped improve areas like medicine and forest products at Maine's colleges.
In 2008, the leader of New Brunswick, Canada, visited Maine. This was the first official visit by a Canadian provincial leader. They talked about increasing trade, tourism, and working together on energy and education.
In 2009, Baldacci signed a law that allowed same-sex marriage in Maine. This was a big step. However, voters in Maine later voted to overturn this law. But in 2012, voters approved a new law that brought same-sex marriage back to Maine.
Baldacci finished his time as governor in 2011. Paul LePage became the next governor.
Personal Life and Family
While he was governor, John Baldacci lived in the Blaine House in Augusta with his wife, Karen, and their son, Jack.
His brother, Joe, is also involved in politics and serves on the Bangor City Council. John Baldacci is related to former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell and author David Baldacci. His wife, Karen, worked with a program that helped children learn to read. She now works as a dietitian.
Baldacci also had an amateur radio license.
Images for kids
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John Baldacci's signature
