Charlie Baker Named 'Public Official of the Year' By Governing Magazine

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker can add another plaque to his trophy case, this time for recognition as a "Public Official of the Year" by Governing Magazine.

Baker is one of eight receiving the 2016 award in a year that, as the magazine writes, is in many ways "a brutal time to be a public official. ... Government, we've been told from both sides of the aisle, is broken."

Baker bucks that trend by his popularity alone.

As the magazine writes:

It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t like Charlie Baker. Since he took office as governor of Massachusetts two years ago, the Republican’s approval ratings have consistently been in the 70 percent range. He’s earned those numbers in what now seems like an old-fashioned way: finding common ground whenever he can with a legislature dominated by the other party. "We have a political climate these days where people seek differences because that’s where the bite is,” Baker says. “I spend most of my time doing just the opposite. I’m looking for places where we can find agreement.”

But it's not just his trend-bucking ability to maintain some middle-ground that the magazine was impressed by. Governing Magazine also lauded Baker for some of the big proposals he's gotten through the legislature, including some that strike at core ideological tenets on the other side of the aisle, such as the MBTA overhaul package that opens the door to outsourcing.

You can read the full profile and meet the other winners in Governing Magazine here.

Image via Mass.gov