The Arlington County Democratic Committee’s outgoing chair gives himself mixed grades as he closes out four years at the helm.
Steve Baker noted some successes in his goals for the party, but also some areas where those efforts fell short, at the Dec. 16 luncheon of Arlington Senior Democrats.
Baker said his primary goal when elected chair in 2022 was to introduce a more “small-d democratic” approach to the party’s decision-making.
“I worked hard at that,” he said, calling efforts to increase representation “a battle that’s never over.”
In past years, decisions often were arrived at behind closed doors by the party’s steering committee, then presented to the rank-and-file for what often was pro-forma ratification — frequently with no dissenting voices heard.
During his tenure as chair, “I tried to bring the important decisions to the [full] committee,” Baker said.
Another effort where Baker believes he had an impact was ramping up the impact of the party’s various caucuses, specialty groups that include the Latino Caucus, Disabilities Caucus, Labor Caucus and Business Caucus among others.
“We’ve had some success” on that front, Baker said, but acknowledged “it’s a heavy lift.”
In his self-evaluation, the Democratic chair said he felt he fell short on efforts to make the monthly meetings more interesting and engaging, but had a few successes on that front.
“We did some interesting things,” Baker said.
Baker’s involvement in local Democratic activism goes back more than 20 years. He was enticed to get involved by Bob Platt, a party activist who was a member of the same running club.
In 2007, he was elected a precinct captain, and his work on the 2008 campaign that saw the election of Barack Obama “got me hooked,” Baker said.
His other roles in the party have included managing outreach at farmers markets, leading the party’s “Beyond Arlington” initiative and leadership in the County Board campaigns of Jay Fisette and Alan Howze.
“The pathway to becoming chair is the clear inability to say ‘no'” when asked to take on new tasks, Baker chuckled.
Baker was serving as deputy chair in 2018 when he ran for the top position, losing to Jill Caiazzo. In 2022, he defeated Matt Royer to succeed Caiazzo in a race that seemed to split along centrist (Baker) and progressive (Royer) lines.
Baker was unopposed for re-election in 2024. Traditionally, Democratic chairs have served no more than two two-year terms.
On Jan. 7, the party will select a successor. Current deputy chair Paul Ruiz is facing off against finance chair Tony Weaver.
Platt, who heads the Arlington Senior Democrats initiative, lauded Baker for “a remarkable four years of leadership.”
“He is well-measured, he really focuses on the big goals,” Platt said.
Baker’s calm, upbeat persona is a solid trait for party chair, said Mary Margaret Whipple, who successively served on the School Board and County Board and in the Virginia Senate.
“He’s making it sound like fun,” said Whipple, who has seen how demanding the position can be.
Baker’s response? “It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s a lot of challenges as well. There are a thousand different course corrections.”
As for his future, Baker said he is open to a role with the Democratic Party of Virginia or the Spanberger Administration.
He has high praise for the incoming governor’s talents.
“Abigail Spanberger is the absolutely best candidate I’ve seen for governor,” Baker said of her 2025 campaign. “It’s a great year to go out on.”
