Edna Caitlin Baker

In  1916 Edna Caitlin Baker was elected to the school board of Sparks, Nevada. Later that same year she became the first woman to elected to a statewide office in Nevada. Baker was nominated to the Republican ticket, unopposed, and campaigned for a two year term to the office of the University of Nevada's Board of Regents. She opposed two other women candidates, Socialist, I.H. Kent of Fallon, and Democrat, J.F. McQuestian, for a two year term on the board. Baker's campaign platform promised to curb the current Board of Regents' secretive activities and to increase the Board's transparency to the public. Baker campaigned in conjunction with two other Republican candidates, J.F. Abel of Elko and the Honorable Benjamin F. Curier of Winnemucca. All three Republicans gained seats on the board, although Baker won with the largest plurality. She gained 44 percent of the vote and carried 11 of 16 counties but lost in two of three precincts in her home county. While in office, she served as the chair of the board's finance committee. She voted for the removal of University President Arch W. Hendrick and supported his replacement, Walter E. Clark. Earlier in 1916, she was also chosen to run for the Sparks Board of School Trustees. Baker was reluctant to accept the position but after two days, decided to join the race. She campaigned against Mrs. Maud Edwards and the incumbent, James W. O'Brien. She won the election and was subsequently nominated as President of the board. She held both the local position of the Board of Trustees and the state position on the Board of Regents simultaneously. She did not seek re-election for the Board of Regents. It is unclear whether she declined a second term on the Board of Trustees or was unsuccessful in a second bid for the position. On July 20, 1876, Edna Baker was born Edna Nevada Catlin in Carson City, Nevada to A.P. and Fannie Millard Catlin. Baker had three brothers and one sister, although one of her older brothers did not survive childhood. Baker graduated from the University of Nevada's College of Education in 1895 and immediately began teaching in Carson City. By 1899, she had gained a position as teacher and principal in Elko County. She resigned from the position in 1902 after her marriage to Fredrick W. Baker. She gave birth to two sons, Francis and Lawrence. The family moved to Sparks Nevada, where Edna became active in the suffrage movement and Nevada state politics. The relocated to Palo Alto, California after her husband retired from his job as a railroad engineer. Edna Baker died on July 12, 1957 in Palo Alto.