Maury mayoral candidate David Baker outlines platform, responds to controversy

Maury County mayoral candidate David Baker, a pastor for 33 years in Columbia, decided to run for mayor to preserve Maury County as a great place to raise a family.

During his campaign, he supported low taxes, a building impact fee to pay for infrastructure, and alternative ideas about how to handle growth in the fastest growing county in the state with over 14,000 new homes planned over the next several years.

Entering the race alongside two other candidates, Baker has faced support as well as criticism, launched a lawsuit, and faces questions about past affiliations.

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Former 64th House District Rep. Sheila Butt, R-Columbia, joined the race in April along with Baker, while challenger and former one-term mayor Charlie Norman entered the race as an independent in November. Norman lost to current mayor Andy Ogles in 2018.

A Santa Fe native, Baker served in the U.S. Army in the Airborne Division,  and planned on becoming an attorney or start a law practice after the military, but after some life experiences, he felt he was supposed to pursue the ministry instead. He now serves as pastor of Family Baptist Church in Columbia.

After getting a DUI 33 years ago and spending a night in jail before dedicating his life to the ministry, he remembers wishing there was a preacher to help him. From that experience, he “developed a heart” to help those struggling find the right path, he said.

“It’s amazing how God can take one a bad thing you’ve been through and use it for good,” Baker said.

He now has served as a volunteer at the Maury County Jail for 28 years and has served as past chaplain of the Maury County Jail. He also heads the Onesimus Discipleship Program, a home for men who are trying to get back on their feet after spending time in jail.

“Every week, I’ve gone to the jail,” Baker said. His experience working with inmates led to his book, “I’m never coming back here,” just one of about six books Baker has written on various topics.

Objectives if elected

Baker, from a family of Santa Fe farmers, has raised 11 children with his wife in Columbia.

“It’s a great place to raise our family, and the number one reason for me running is to make sure it stays a great place to raise a family,” Baker said. “If we aren’t careful, we will mess this place up.”

Baker said he believes in lobbying the state legislature to support a building impact fee in Maury County, a previous bill sponsored by Rep. Scott Cepicky and Sen. Joey Hensley, which failed to pass in the state House last spring.

“[Developers] come in build developments and businesses, and property taxes are going up leaving those longtime residents to pay. It doesn’t seem fair for property taxes to go up,” he said.

“The impact fee has to happen. We need some people in there to have a passion to get this done.”

Baker says growth is the major challenge facing the county.

“We have to have funds to pay for infrastructure. We are already three schools behind,” he said.

As a solution, Baker suggests devising a virtual homeschool for families to attend rather than having to immediately build new schools. Such a solution, he says, could slow the county’s need to build brand new schools that cost upwards of $75 million-plus.

“I am not a politician. Many politicians talk about the problems but never fix it. They make excuses why they can’t change things,” he said.

Controversy arises, church member charged with sexual battery

Although Baker has drawn supporters, controversy has swirled around his campaign during the election.

He filed a complaint in the Maury County Circuit Court on June 22, against opponent Butt, who the Maury County Republican Party endorsed for mayor. The suit claims Butt made false accusations against Baker regarding a legal matter through a text message to Republican Rick Williams. It's an ongoing case in which the Maury County Republican Party executive committee was subpoenaed.

Meanwhile, a past church congregant is speaking out about past experiences when Baker was a pastor at Lighthouse Church, which filed for bankruptcy in 2011.

Aimee Spires, 32, says when she attended Lighthouse Church, Baker did not support her when she was sexually violated as a child by a church member, James Earl Lovett.

Lovett was charged, pled guilty, and was convicted in 2004 of sexual battery and aggravated sexual battery, a Class E Felony against Spires who was then 13 years old. He is on the Tennessee child sex offender registry as of 2021.

Spires said Lovett began making sexual advances by touching her breasts and backside, which progressed Spires said when she started babysitting at the Lovetts' home when she was 11 years old.

Spires said she was confronted about the allegations at the time by Baker.

“One day, David pulled me into his office. I was about 11 or 12 years old, and my mother was not with me at the time. He said we need to talk about these allegations," Spires said.

Spires said she told him the allegations were true.

"He looked at me and said he has a family," Spires said. “He told me not to go to the authorities. He told me if that happens, it can destroy a family. He said God would not want you to destroy a family.”

Baker said he cooperated with the authorities at the time, not dissuading Spires from reporting the incident.

“Absolutely not,” Baker said. “I have turned in probably more people with my job in what I do to the authorities than just about anyone.”

“The allegation came that Mr. Lovett touched her outside of her clothes, and I asked him what happened and he verified exactly what she told me. When I asked her what she wanted me to do, she said nothing, just have him not come around me. At the time, I did not think that was something that needed to be reported because the allegation was touched outside of clothes,” Baker said.

An Aug. 14, 2003, Columbia Police Department report states that Lovett confessed the sexual acts to Baker, which Baker confirmed.

“James Lovett was confronted by the pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Church David Baker and James Lovett did confess to pastor David Baker that he had assaulted [redacted] on Aug. 19, 2003,” the police report says.

Spires says she felt he "threw me away," feeling Baker had stood by Lovett.

"I was determined not to let it destroy me," said Spires, who says she now has "a wonderful life."

Baker’s affiliation with accused Indiana pastor David Hyles has also been questioned.

Baker runs a ministry Fallen in Grace with Hyles, who is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl, Joy Ryder, when he was a youth pastor at a megachurch, according to 2018 reports by the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram and other media outlets.

Hyles has never been charged.

Baker explained the relationship, confirming that Fallen in Grace is a joint ministry between him and Hyles, which includes a retreat center called The Red Barn in Georgia. According to the website, all donations for Fallen in Grace go to Baker's current church at a P.O. Box. Baker confirmed that funds go directly to the Fallen in Grace fund.

“It is a ministry of our church,” Baker said. “We help people, Christians, and pastors who have fallen.”

The website describes the fallen as those who have been “involved in sinful activity” and have been “disgraced,” sometimes publicly.

Hyles is the son of the founder of Hyles-Anderson College, an unaccredited private Independent Baptist college, which Baker attended.

“He fell [involving adultery] 30 or 35-plus years ago. He has been married to his current wife for 35 years,” Baker said. “There have been allegations since then ... . People false accuse but never, nothing has ever been proven because those things aren’t true."

“We should lift the fallen,” Baker said. “If a preacher or Christian falls, we should pick them up. When a preacher or Christian falls, so many times, people kick them when they are down."

Baker said with his job, one deals with many who have "problems and issues," such as drug addiction and unlawful acts, which can be a challenge.

" ... I have never gone after the doctors and the lawyers and the rich people, but to the people who are hurting and needing help, and in doing that, you are going to deal with a lot of people that have a lot of problems and issues."

Baker offers classes as part of an Independent Baptist Online College, serves as pastor of Family Baptist Church, 1562 Old Hwy 99 Columbia, and operates the family life coaching ministry, Baker Bunch Family Ministry through Baker Bunch LLC, which he said the “LLC” has recently been removed.

Baker, who holds a Master’s degree in education, is also the author of six books and a curriculum series.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Maury mayoral candidate David Baker outlines platform