Owen Baker

Owen Matthew Baker (born January 15th, 1973) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Sequoia's 3rd congressional district since 2005. A member of the New Democratic Party, he got his start in politics working as a campaign aide in the late 1990s after serving in the Gulf War.

Early life, military service, and education
Baker was born and raised in Chicago, Montclair as the only child of Matthew and Jessica Baker. His father, Matthew, was a union machinist and his mother, Jessica, an emergency room nurse. Growing up, Baker lived a comfortable life until the death of his father in spring 1980. After the patriarch's death, his mother often had to take extra 12-hour shifts at the hospital to make ends meet.

During high school, Baker was in choir and played the saxophone in the school band. At age 14, he got his first job working as a cashier at a neighborhood convenience store on Chicago's North Side.

Upon his graduation from high school, Baker enlisted in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. He was deployed in 1991 to fight in the Gulf War in Iraq. Baker was part of a unit assigned to identify and disrupt terrorist finance networks in Kuwait.

After his deployment, he eventually graduated from Yale University's Jackson School of Global Affairs with both a Bachelor and a Master of Public Policy in 1995. After dating for several years, Baker and his girlfriend, Katie Vaughn, wed in Palm Beach, Bluegrass in 1998.

Environment
A self-described political centrist and Third Way/New Democrat, Baker has long advocated for greater protection of the environment. In a 2004 interview with Vanessa Thorpe he stated: "I think the most important issue not just in Sequoia, but in the country, is making sure our environment is being protected. Without that, we don't have a future."

Abortion
As a noted Christian, Baker's person views on abortion are often at odds with the platform of his party, but he has said that he "respects settled precedent" and that "one group's personal religious beliefs should not cloud their judgement about what is ultimately the will of the people and what's best for America." In 2004, he authored legislation that would make the right to an abortion federal law.

Pre-Congressional career
Before being elected to Congress in the 2004 election, Baker worked as a Policy Director for then-Representative Fitzgerald Grant from 1996 to 1998. After leaving Grant's office, Baker took a position working as the Senior Policy Director to the Chief Development Officer at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He held this position from 1998 to 2004, resigning shortly after his election to Congress.

2004 Congressional bid
Baker was first inspired to run for office after the events of 9/11, but was unable to secure funding and a team in time to run in the 2002 United States House of Representatives elections. After some thought, he decided he would primary sitting Representative Olivia Pope due to her frequent absence from the House. He won his party nomination and ousted Pope in the primary. On November 2nd, he prevailed over Senator Tommy Tuberville to win the general election.