Politics

Baker says 3d term decision ‘very complicated’

Asked why, he responds: ‘Are you serious, really?’

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GOV. CHARLIE BAKER got a little prickly on Tuesday when he was pressed on where he stood in terms of deciding to seek a third term next year.

Jim Braude, one of the hosts of the Boston Public Radio show on WGBH, has a knack of keeping his monthly visits with Baker substantive but light and airy. In that vein, he segued from a question about sports betting legislation to personal politics by asking the governor how he would advise someone to bet on whether he will seek a third term.

Baker laughed heartily at the question, and came back with a quip. “I’d put in on black and red,” he said, suggesting the decision could go either way.

Braude then got more serious, saying Baker had said on a previous visit that he would talk it over with his family and make a decision after Labor Day.

“I do remember that,” Baker said.

So what happened? Braude asked.

“We are post -Labor Day,” Baker said. “And we’ll make a decision soon.”

Braude asked if the governor had already made his decision.

“It’s a very complicated issue, Jim, for all kinds of reasons,” Baker said, adding that he had not made his decision.

Braude asked why the decision was so complicated, and Baker responded: “Are you serious, really?”

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About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

Braude said he was serious and wanted to know what Baker was grappling with.

“There are lots of considerations to go into a decision like this, some are professional and some are personal,” Baker said. “Anybody who makes a decision about something like this without thinking really hard about it isn’t doing themselves or their families or the communities they want to serve any favors. You’re signing up for something that is hugely important if you decide to do it, and it comes with an enormous amount of opportunity and at the same time tremendous challenges, many of which you don’t know about in advance.”

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