Maxine Baker | |
|---|---|
 Maxine Baker (center) in 1965. | |
| Born | Maxine R. Eldridge July 26, 1898
Berwyn, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | January 28, 1994 (aged 95)
Orange City, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Radcliffe College |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse | John A. Baker |
Maxine Baker (July 26, 1898 – January 28, 1994) was an American politician. She served as a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1963 to 1972, representing Miami-Dade County, Florida. She is the namesake of the Baker Act, also known as the Florida Mental Health Act. [1]
Baker was on Florida Governor LeRoy Collins's Special Constitutional Advisory Committee (SPAC) in 1958 as a prominent Dade County representative of the League of Women Voters. Many in Florida[ weasel words] wanted to finally revise the old Florida Constitution of 1885. She was a progressive force in advocating for county home rule, reapportionment, and particularly for desegregation of public schools. These changes eventually were incorporated into the 1968 revised Florida Constitution. [2]
References
- ^ "A Guide to the Maxine E. Baker Papers". George A. Smathers Libraries. University of Florida. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
- ^ Adkins, Mary (2016). Making Modern Florida. University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-5251-9.
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| National | |
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- 1898 births
- 1994 deaths
- People from College Park, Maryland
- People from Miami-Dade County, Florida
- Radcliffe College alumni
- Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
- Women state legislators in Florida
- 20th-century American legislators
- 20th-century American women politicians
- 20th-century Florida politicians
- Florida politician stubs