 Before entering state politics, Baumann was mayor of Port Stephens.Following admissions by Baumann, at a hearing of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on 12 September 2014, that he had written sham invoices to cover up payments received from developers during his election campaign in 2007, he announced that he would resign from the Liberal Party and move to the crossbench of the Legislative Assembly.Baumann stood down at the 2015 state election, with Kate Washington gaining the seat for Labor with a large 19.5% swing.