Ron Baker, the head of Colorado’s public pension system, is fired after two-month leave of absence

Link: https://coloradosun.com/2023/05/02/ron-baker-pera-fired/

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Ron Baker, the executive director of Colorado’s Public Employees’ Retirement Association, was fired Monday night by the 16-member board overseeing the state’s $60 billion-plus public pension system. 

Baker’s firing comes nearly two months after he went on a leave of absence. PERA refused to say why Baker went on leave or to say whether his absence was self-initiated or initiated by the PERA board.  

The PERA board convened in downtown Denver on Monday evening for a special meeting to discuss Baker’s employment status. The board immediately voted unanimously to enter a secret executive session, which lasted more than six hours. 

When the board emerged from its closed-door session, Vice Chair Suzanne Kubec made a motion to terminate Baker, which was seconded by Colorado Treasurer Dave Young, who sits on the board. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned.

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Baker was appointed to be PERA’s executive director in 2018 and made an annual salary of more than $400,000, In January, the PERA board voted to award Baker a 19% performance bonus and increased his salary by 4%, according to meeting minutes.

Author(s): Jesse Paul

Publication Date: 2 May 2023

Publication Site: Colorado Sun