Itai Vardi reports on Baker’s ties to the fossil fuel industry

Governor Baker is the only elected official who has refused to speak out against the dangerous compressor station proposal. Why? Likely because he has ties to the fossil fuel industry. Our Governor, who was elected by the people, to serve the people, seems much more concerned about his industry relationships. We’ve been told on multiple occasions that he “does not meet with constituents.” Imagine that. An elected official who refuses to meet with their constituents. We can’t help but wonder how much time he sets aside for meetings with industry folks, while his own constituents spend months on end sitting in this office.

Investigative journalist Itai Vardi has a new piece in Desmogblog, uncovering investments that Baker has in the fossil fuel industry. More cause for concern. You can read more here: Desmog - As Natural Gas Infrastructure Decisions Loom, Massachusetts Gov. Baker Invests in Fossil Fuel Companies

Excerpt: “According to Baker’s recent financial disclosure, filed last week with the state’s Ethics Commission, the governor invested last year in a specialty energy fund composed almost exclusively of oil, gas, and coal companies.

Baker and his wife began investing in 2018 in Fidelity Advisor Energy Fund, which did not appear in the governor’s previous disclosures. …

The fund’s portfolio is a veritable who’s who of the fossil fuel industry.

Its top 10 companies, comprising nearly half of the fund’s assets, include Chevron, EOG Resources, Valero Energy, Diamondback Energy, Phillips 66, Pioneer Natural Resources, ExxonMobil, Anadarko Petroleum, Cabot Oil & Gas, and Marathon Petroleum.

Companies engaged in fossil fuel exploration and production, through such methods as hydraulic fracturing (fracking), tar sands extraction, or offshore drilling, comprise the largest portion of the fund.

Natural gas infrastructure projects planned in Massachusetts — including Enbridge’s Atlantic Bridge and Access Northeast projects and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility in central Massachusetts — require various state approvals and will be fed by gas extracted from the shale formations in Appalachia. Chevron, Anadarko, EOG Resources, and Cabot Oil & Gas — all in the top 10 companies in the Fidelity Advisor Energy Fund — are among the biggest players in those fracking fields." (Desmog, 2019)