Irvine : Mayor Agrees to Shed Pounds for Charity

Dave Baker, the city’s hefty mayor and former All American Basketball star, is hoping to be a loser for a change.

As part of a fund-raiser for the county United Cerebral Palsy Assn., the 6-foot, 8-inch Baker is taking financial pledges for pounds he will shed from his 333-pound frame.

Baker, 33, said, “In my dreams I would weigh 285. But I’m hoping to lose 20 to 30 pounds by the time this is over.”

The finishing date is July 13, when Baker and 3,000 others will run in UCP’s second annual Bastille Day 8K run starting at the Hotel Meridien in Newport Beach. Prizes will be awarded, including a free weekend for two at the hotel to the contestant who comes closest to guessing Baker’s final weight.

Other corporate sponsors, including the Irvine Co. and Fred S. James Insurance, have agreed to match $8,000 in pledges.

“We all enjoy having fun,” Baker said, “but this is all for a very serious cause. The pain I’ll go through losing this weight is nothing compared to the pain that victims of cerebral palsy and their families feel.”

For more information about the 8K fund-raising run, call United Cerebral Palsy at (714) 641-3774.