Henry Scott Baesler (born July 9,1941) is an American Democratic politician and former Representative for the 6th district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky,including Lexington,Richmond,and Georgetown.[1] He served as the Mayor of Lexington from 1982 to 1993,and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1999.[2] Former Representative Baesler's core policies stemmed from Government Operations and Politics,Economics and Public Finance,Education,Agriculture and Food and more.[3] HIs most notable pieces of legislation include the proposed amendment of the H.R. 3769 (105th):Fairness for Working Families Act,[4] H.R. 3867 (105th):LEAF Act,and the H.R. 4860:(105th) National Domestic Violence Victim Notification Act.
Baesler was born in Lexington,Kentucky. He graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1963 with a degree in accounting,later earning a J.D. degree in 1966.[5] While at the university,Baesler played basketball as the team captain in 1963 under legendary coach,Adolph Rupp.[6] Over his final two seasons,Baesler maintained a per game average of 10.3 points,4 rebounds,3 assists,while shooting 83% from the foul line.[7]
Baesler practiced law following college while working on his family's tobacco farm. This later became one of his own policy focuses in his political career,being the only U.S. Representative to have also been a tobacco farmer.[8]
Scotty married Alice Baesler,a fellow University of Kentucky graduate,in 1963 with their marriage lasting 60 years until her passing in 2023.[9] Scotty and Alice had two children,Dudley Scott and Ashley Baesler.[10] Baesler identifies as an Independent Christian and moderate politician.[11]
Political career
After graduating from law school at the University of Kentucky in 1966,Baesler practiced law and served from 1967 to 1973[12] as an administrator for the Fayette County Legal Aid Administration,a nonprofit entity that provides free legal services to indigent persons facing criminal charges.[13] He served as Vice Mayor of Lexington from 1974 to 1978,then as a District Court Judge in Fayette County from 1978 to 1982.[14] Following his judgeship,Baesler was elected Mayor of Lexington in 1981 and served for 11 years,becoming the chairman for the Kentucky Economic Planning Commission.[15]
In 1991,Baesler ran for governor in a four-way Democratic primary,landing 149,352 votes. He finished in second behind Brereton Jones,who won the general election by over 200,0000 votes,defeating RepublicanLarry Hopkins.[16]
Scotty Baesler ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1992,winning the vote by 61% against Republican Charles Ellinger after Larry Jones Hopkins declined to seek an eighth term.[17] Baesler was often associated with the Blue Dog Coalition in Congress,a caucus of democrats that believed the party had moved too far to the left,becoming unappealing to the people. This coalition valued moderate democratic ideas and emphasized fiscal responsibility.[18]
During his time as a Representative,Baesler sponsored several key pieces of introduced legislation including the amendment of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994,establishing a national domestic violence victim notification system,and the H.R. 3867 LEAF Act which focused on providing financial aid and educational opportunities for working tobacco farmers affected by declining tobacco production.[19] He was a part of the House Agricultural Committee,where he also served on the Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture and Risk Management and Specialty Crops subcommittee. Moreover,Scotty served within the House Veterans' Affairs Committee as a member of the Hospitals and Health Care subcommittee.[20] Baesler served on the House Budget Committee from 1997 to 1999[21] and held his seat in the House for three terms.[22]
In 1996,he ran for Congress as an incumbent and defeated Ernie Fletcher by a vote of 125,999 to 100,231.[23] He declined re-election in 1998 to run for the Senate seat of retiring Democratic whip,Wendell Ford. Baesler won a narrow primary victory of 4.9 percentage points over Louisville businessman Charlie Owen and Lieutenant GovernorSteve Henry. He was then defeated by a small margin of 0.6 points in the general election by fellow Republican congressman Jim Bunning.[24]
In 2000,Baesler attempted re-election for his former House of Representatives seat against Republican Ernie Fletcher,who had replaced him in 1998.[25]
Voting Record and Legislation
Scotty Baesler was often labeled as a moderate on foreign,economic,and cultural issues. Many of his actions in Congress aimed to protect the tobacco industry and agriculture through his seat on the House Agricultural Committee,opposing Bill Clinton's taxes on tobacco and criticizing Surgeon General Jocelyn Elder's efforts to outlaw tobacco use and legalize marijuana.[26] Baesler vocally advocated for the Bipartisan Campaign Integrity Act of 1997,a bill proposed to limit excessive soft money campaign spending among interest groups and political parties. He also co-sponsored many pieces of legislation involving public health issues,taxation,and national security.[27]
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