On his second to last day in office Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Baker delivered a “thank you to the people of Massachusetts,” as the Swampscott resident prepared to walk away from the post he has held for the past eight years.
Baker, a Republican, has served as governor since 2014 and opted not to run for a third term last year, clearing the way for Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat, to claim the state’s top office. In March, Baker is set to take the helm of the NCAA as its next president.
At the start of his remarks, Baker said he and Lt. Gov Karyn Polito would be leaving the State House with “love and appreciation” for what residents of the state have shown them since the start of their administration — kindness and generosity.
“We’ve attended thousands of gatherings, fundraisers, and celebrations on behalf of all kinds of good causes,” Baker said. “Kids, seniors, people dealing with addiction, mental health issues, homelessness, and countless other worthy causes. Neighbors helping neighbors. Local leaders going above and beyond. Businesses, big and small, standing up for their communities.”
Events like these, he said, served as a “fuel,” giving him joy. They also prompted change. Baker cited the state’s Summer Nights Program, which provides “free, safe youth-based programs for thousands of at-risk teens and young adults in urban areas across the Commonwealth” as an example of something that exists because of a conversation had at one of those events.
“With your help, and in collaboration with our legislative colleagues, we went on to accomplish so much more,” he said. “We took a $1 billion budget deficit, turned it into a $5 billion budget surplus and gave $3 billion back to taxpayers and put $7 billion into the state’s rainy day fund.”
Baker went on to cite other accomplishments: bringing broadband to Western Massachusetts, delivering long-promised infrastructure projects, and passing a major housing reform bill, which he said represented the state “finally [doing] something about the cost of owning a home.”
Despite all that, the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, provides the clearest example of the state coming together.
“When food pantries got stretched thin, local leaders adapted, recruited new volunteers, partnered with the national guard and delivered for their communities. Across the state, you manned testing sites and vaccine clinics and helped us find medical gear, made major adjustments to the way you worked and the way you played, checked in on your neighbors, and supported first responders, health care, and other frontline workers,” Baker said. “While I know that many of you didn’t agree with all of the decisions the lieutenant governor and I made during the pandemic, you tried your very best to abide by the rules and to share in the work to be done.”
That unity, Baker said, is why the state has been able to recover nearly all of the jobs lost during the pandemic, why the state’s unemployment rate sits below the national average, and why the nationally renowned Commonwealth Fund concluded that Massachusetts did a better job handling the pandemic than every other state in the nation except for Hawaii.
“This is a very special place,” he said.
During his tenure, Baker said he visited more than 250 cities and towns statewide, while Polito visited all 351 — some more than once.
“Both of us were amazed by the creativity, decency, and shared sense of purpose that we saw everywhere we went,” he said.
Baker said of the thousands of events he attended during his eight years as governor, one stood out. A trip to Washington, D.C. in 2021, where he visited the Massachusetts National Guard members deployed there.
There he saw “450 citizen soldiers, ages 18 to 58, from every corner of Massachusetts, from every race and religion, all there to do the same job for the same reason. To serve their commonwealth and their country no matter when the call comes.”
“That visit for me is the embodiment of the commitment and generosity of the people of Massachusetts,” Baker said.
It is his “fervent hope” that that generosity “never wavers,” Baker said.
“It is truly what makes you special and it is the foundation on which … we can continue to build a great Commonwealth,” he added. “I want you to know that you will be sorely missed by the two of us and our teams. God bless you.”
Later Tuesday, Baker’s administration announced nearly $2 million in fire education grants as a part of the Student Awareness of Fire Education and Senior SAFE programs.
Those grants will benefit 266 municipal fire departments — including those in Lynnfield, Peabody, Nahant, Marblehead, Saugus and Swampscott. Those communities will share $39,138 in funding, intended to fund fire and life safety education for children and older adults.
