# John Burton (American politician)

John Lowell Burton (born December 15, 1932) is an American politician who served in both the California State Assembly and the United States House of Representatives. He was a member of the Democratic Party and represented California's 5th and 6th congressional districts.
Burton served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1974 to 1983, during which time he was a strong advocate for civil rights, environmental protection, and healthcare reform. He co-authored the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, which imposed economic sanctions on South Africa in protest of its system of racial segregation known as apartheid. In 1988, Burton was elected to the California State Assembly (where he had previously served from 1965 to 1974), and served until forced out by term limits in 1996. At that time he was elected to the California State Senate, serving until reaching his term limit in 2004. During his time in the state Legislature, he championed progressive causes such as expanding access to healthcare, protecting the environment, and advancing civil rights.
After leaving the Legislature, Burton continued his involvement in politics and advocacy, serving as the chairman of the California Democratic Party from 2009 to 2017. He also established the John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes, which works to improve the lives of foster children in California. Throughout his career, Burton has been recognized for his contributions to public service and advocacy, receiving numerous awards and honors, including the Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

## Early life

Burton was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Mildred (Leonard) and Thomas Burton, who was a salesman and physician. He was raised in San Francisco. Burton earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in social science in 1954 from San Francisco State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

## Political career

After graduating from law school, Burton worked as an attorney in San Francisco, and as a lobbyist for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).
Burton was elected to the California State Assembly in 1964. He served there from 1965 to 1974, and again from 1988 to 1996.
Following the release of the 1970 U.S. Census, John Burton and his older brother, Congressman Phil Burton, were in charge of drawing boundaries for the state's congressional districts (reapportionment).
In 1973-1974, John Burton first served as chair of the California Democratic Party, a post he would also hold from 2009 to 2017.
Burton served in the U.S. House of Representatives, alongside his brother Phil, after winning a special election in 1974. Re-elected three times, he chose not to seek re-election to the House in 1982.
He was originally elected to the Assembly to succeed his brother, who had been elected to Congress and eventually would serve as Democratic caucus chairman. In April 1983, Phil Burton died in office and was succeeded by his widow Sala Burton, who won a special election that June. She served until her death in 1987, after which Nancy Pelosi won another special election to fill that seat.
The Los Angeles Times reported: "After quitting Congress in 1982, Burton cleaned himself up in a rehabilitation center and spent nearly six years in private law practice before returning to where he started in elective office, the California Assembly, in 1988."
John Burton was returned to the Assembly in a 1988 special election to succeed Art Agnos, who had been elected Mayor of San Francisco. Burton then won a full term that fall and was re-elected in 1990, at which time California voters passed term limits restricting Assembly members to three full terms (and state senators to two full terms) from then on.
Burton served the three terms he was still allowed in the Assembly; then, in 1996, he was elected to the state Senate. He was re-elected to a final term in the Senate in 2000. From 1998 to 2004, he served as the president pro tempore of the Senate.
As a legislator, Burton was known for expanding the Cal Grant scholarship program, and passing a law (subsequently defeated in a referendum) that would have required California businesses to pay for health coverage for their workers. The magazine California Journal said about Burton's departure from the Senate in 2004: "Gone will be the Senate's most vehement partisan for social services for the poor, the Senate's angriest voice against tax breaks for businesses and the wealthy, its loudest voice for protection of workers, its fiercest pro-labor advocate and its disciplinarian."

## Charitable work

After leaving the Senate, Burton formed the John Burton Foundation, an organization that, according to its website, is "dedicated to improving the quality of life for California’s homeless children and developing policy solutions to prevent homelessness."
In February 2007, he was appointed board member of the University of Phoenix.
In 2008, Burton settled a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment filed by Kathleen Driscoll, then the executive director of his charitable foundation. She claimed Burton sexually harassed her by making unwanted advances, suggestively raising his eyebrows and commenting on her body. At a 2008 news conference in her attorney's office, Driscoll said, "I had a dream of helping homeless children through a job I loved. John Burton turned that dream into a sexual harassment nightmare and quite frankly a living hell." Burton's attorney, Susan Rubenstein, countered, saying, "John Burton has dedicated approximately a half-century of his life to public service, and if he were a sexual harasser, I think it would have been unearthed by now. I think the allegations are shocking and a shakedown and are absolutely meritless." Within hours Rubenstein received information that Driscoll had written or said complimentary things about Burton that contradicted her allegations. In a June 2007 e-mail to another foundation employee, Driscoll had written, "I love John because his heart is so good and pure." Rubenstein continued, "I just got off the phone with another [person] who felt compelled to tell me that she had lunch with Driscoll and she said Driscoll had nothing but admirable things to say about Mr. Burton."

## Party leadership (2009–2017) and aftermath

On April 26, 2009, Burton was elected chair of the California Democratic Party (a post he had previously held some 35 years earlier), succeeding Art Torres. He received roughly 76% of the vote over his sole challenger, Chris Finnie of Santa Cruz.
Burton stepped down from his party chairmanship in May 2017. He was succeeded by vice chairman Eric Bauman. At his farewell, he recalled a lesson learned early in life. Near tears he described walking in San Francisco with his father, who doled out whatever money he had to the poor. When John asked why, Burton recalled, "He put his finger in my face and told me he never ever wanted me to walk past some guy in bad circumstances without leaving something in the cup." Burton continued, "That's what Democrats do. …There’s a lot of people out there that if we don’t fight for them, nobody’s going to fight for them because they don’t have any power."
After promoting expanded medical care for Californians, he was extolled in a video and by a long line of effusive party luminaries. He was applauded for his decades-long leadership, leading protests against the Vietnam War, his support of Central Valley farmworkers, the homeless, and the needy. He finally ended his comments by raising both middle fingers and saying, "Fuck [Donald] Trump," to loud applause.

### San Francisco Port Commission

Burton was appointed to the San Francisco Port Commission on October 22, 2020, by Mayor of San Francisco London Breed.

## Personal life

Burton was previously married to Michele (née Hall) Burton, daughter of Jack Hall, a Hawaiian trade unionist, and a healthcare consultant. Their daughter, Kimiko Burton, served as San Francisco Public Defender from 2001 to 2003, and currently serves as a member of the California State Personnel Board.