Summary: Mayor Rick Baker is the current Mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida. He was first elected in 2001 to lead Florida’s 4th largest city, re-elected in November 2005 by over 70% of the vote, winning every precinct in the city. In 2008, Mayor Baker was named as the 2008 United States Mayor/ Public Official of the year by Governing Magazine. An accomplished musician, “the guitar-playing mayor,” Rick Baker plays and sings regularly with Sam Stone at the Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Petersburg. He is also frequently invited to play with local and national acts. Mayor Baker was appointed by Governor Charlie Crist to serve on Transition Team as Group Leader for departments of Transportation, Environmental Protection and Community Affairs, along with the Fish and Wildlife Commission and was appointed Vice Chair of Governor Crist’s Action Team on Energy & Climate Change. He also became Governor Jeb Bush’s appointment to Chair the Municipal Mentoring Initiative and the Century Commission for a sustainable Florida as well as the Chair of the National League of Cities - School Improvement Task Force. Mayor Baker practiced corporate and business law for 19 years, serving as president of Fisher and Sauls, P.A. He authored Mangroves to Major Leagues, a book on the history of St. Petersburg from 23,000 B.C. to 2000 A.D. He holds a B.S. in management, an M.B.A. and a Juris Doctor with honors from Florida State University where he also served as senior class president. He has studied comparative law at Oxford University and worked as a Law intern with Florida Supreme Court Justice Ben Overton. He resides in St. Petersburg with his wife Joyce and has two children.
