Charlie Baker Wraps Up Leadership of a 'Very Special Place'
BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker bid farewell to the people of the commonwealth virtually on Tuesday after eight years in office.
He and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito did not seek re-election and will be replaced by Gov.-elect Maura Healey and Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Driscoll, who are being inaugurated on Thursday.
Baker coined Massachusetts as a "very special place."
"Despite a myriad of political fights and distractions that were raging all around us, people here chose to focus on the work and it paid off," the Republican said during the livestream from his office.
"The personal and professional generosity from the Berkshires to Cape Cod and every place in between was always there. We were there, too, in the front row watching it and appreciating it for eight cherished years."
The outgoing governor highlighted a number of successes that were made during his tenure, one of which was bringing broadband access to Western Massachusetts.
In the summer of 2021, the town of Becket marked its "Last Mile" connection. The small hilltown is one of 53 communities that are part of the Baker administration's Last Mile Infrastructure Grant Program that was established in 2017.
The statewide broadband initiative began 10 years before but connecting the state's sparsely populated towns took far longer than expected.
Baker also touted the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Summer Nights program founded in 2015 that provides youth-based programs for at-risk teens and young adults, the turnaround of a billion-dollar budget deficit into a $5 billion surplus, various infrastructure projects, and the passage of a housing reform bill in 2021 that aimed to dedicate $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds for homeownership and affordable housing.
"And we did it all without partisan bickering," he added.
He feels that the commonwealth really showed its strength during the COVID-19 pandemic as vaccine sites were put together, food pantries were helped by the National Guard, and residents found ways to support first responders and one another.
"And 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," Baker said.
"I believe that's why we recovered almost all the jobs we lost during the pandemic, why we have an unemployment rate that's below the national average, and why the nationally renowned Commonwealth Fund concluded that we did a better job of managing the pandemic than every other state except for Hawaii. That's because this is a very special place."
Polito was able to visit all 351 cities and towns of the state to meet with officials and community leaders and Baker made it to more than 250. Everywhere the two went, they were amazed by the "creativity, decency, and shared sense of purpose" that was seen in each community, he said.
"It is our fervent hope that your generosity never wavers. It is truly what makes you special and it's the foundation on which we can continue to build great communities and a great commonwealth," he concluded.
"We are deeply grateful for the gifts you've given us over these past eight years and I want you to know that you will be sorely missed by the two of us and by our teams. God bless you."
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