BOSTON—Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles Baker earned $100,000 or more for serving on a corporate board last year, according to a state financial disclosure form released Tuesday.
The money came from Natixis Global Asset Management, a financial firm with offices in Boston and Paris. The payment of it was deferred until this year.
The form also shows Baker receiving "$100,001 or more" as a "board member" of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. A spokesman says that entry reflects his compensation as the company's president.
Harvard Pilgrim paid Baker a total compensation of $1.75 million in 2008, other state documents show. He has refused, however, to release his state and federal income taxes for 2009 in response to a request by The Associated Press.
The Democratic incumbent, Gov. Deval Patrick, has refused to release his returns since 2006, saying they are private. Both Baker and independent gubernatorial candidate Timothy Cahill have said they will not release their returns unless all three candidates do so.
Instead, each of the campaigns have pointed to the less-detailed financial disclosure form, which reports data only in broad categories. Baker's was supplied to the AP on Tuesday, the day it had to be filed with the state, and about an hour after the candidate's last public appearance of the day.
His salary figure came from a separate form Harvard Pilgrim must file with the attorney general's office.
Baker's own financial disclosure form shows he has a timeshare in Park City, Utah, worth over $80,000. It also says Harvard Pilgrim paid him a $6,000 annual car allowance, as well as $900 annually to help with his financial planning. In addition, Baker and his wife, Lauren, own a home in Swampscott whose value is listed only as "$100,001 or more."
The mortgage on that property carries an interest rate of 5.35 percent and is due in 2018.
Baker's form also came with a four-page appendix, with one page listing the 15 board, council and advisory seats he held or continues to hold. Only the Harvard Pilgrim and Natixis seats carried compensation; other posts such as seats on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, Boston College Carroll School of Management and New England Council boards were unpaid.
The other three pages list 23 securities and investments, including 529 college savings plans for each of his three children, as well as stock in the
Earlier Tuesday, Baker officially secured a place on the September primary ballot.
He and his running mate, state Sen. Richard Tisei, R-Wakefield, each submitted more than the 10,000 signatures needed to get on that ballot. They face no challenge from within their party, so they will advance to the general election in November.
The two walked into the secretary of state's Elections Division, each toting boxes of signature forms previously reviewed by city and town clerks. Baker submitted a total of 16,000 certified signatures, while Tisei filed 14,000.
Baker described himself as "humbled" by the experience of seeking support "one person, one signature, one clipboard at a time." Echoing his campaign theme, he said the total of 30,000 names posted by him and Tisei was "a pretty good indication of the fact that there's a lot of people in Massachusetts out there who's had enough."
Patrick previously submitted 15,000 signatures, while Cahill has until Aug. 31 because he is not running as a party candidate.
Cahill reveled Tuesday in the endorsement of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, the same group that famously endorsed then-GOP Vice President George H.W. Bush against Democratic Gov. Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts in the 1988 presidential race.
"Cahill is the candidate who can give our officers the support they need to keep all citizens of the commonwealth safe," said union President Thomas Nee. "He's committed to us now and that will stand true when he's governor."
The treasurer also recently was endorsed by police unions in Quincy, his hometown, and Springfield, the state's third-largest city.
