The former U.S. Congressman John Burton is a salty, unabashed liberal San Francisco Democrats who died on Sunday joined the working class and nurtured numerous political careers including Nancy Pelosi. He is 92 years old.
Burton died in San Francisco in San Francisco, his family said in a statement.
California’s top politicians poured in with respect, recalling Burton’s fierce and relentless advocates of laborers, raising children and the environment. Burton has coached Pelosi, former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, current U.S. Senator Alex Padilla and countless others over the years California Officials.
“There is no bigger champion than the poor, bullied, disabled and forgotten Californians of John Burton. He is a towering figure-the legendary figure, decades of service have shaped our state and our politics and made our politics better.”
Another former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown said death has managed to separate him from a dear friend who is by his side for decades — as a college student they met for the first time, as a newbie to the state legislature and an influential member of the California democratic political machine.
“John Burton is probably the best person I’ve ever been a member of the Legislature,” Brown said.
State Democratic Chairman Rusty Hicks said Burton believes the administration is at its best when serving those who need it most, and he has never backed down on the fight.
“The biggest way to honor John Burton is to continue fighting with the same perseverance, tenacity and inner self as his life,” Hicks said in a statement.
“He cared very much,” said Burton’s daughter Kimiko Burton. “He always instilled in me that we fight for losers. There have been millions of lives in life that don’t know who he is.”
John Lowell Burton was born on December 15, 1932 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in San Francisco, with plans to teach history and coach high school basketball.
But he followed his brother, Phillip Burton, into politics and was elected to the state legislature in 1964. Ten years later, he moved to the U.S. House, where he pushed legislation to protect wilderness areas of the Kinmen National Entertainment District and condemned apartheid in South Africa.
Burton resigned in 1982 to resolve his cocaine addiction, but he did not leave for a long time.
In 1988, he returned to the California Parliament and won a state Senate seat in 1996, becoming president of the chamber. He retired from elected politics in 2004 – until he led the California Democratic Party from 2009 to 2017.
After retirement, he formed a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating youth. John Burton’s commemoration of youth advocacy quoted his anger because of the lack of resources for foster care youth of age.
“Where did you start to liberate? What did you go?” he asked. “Can’t go on the roof over their heads? Being frozen in opportunities for higher education? Unemployment? Living on welfare volumes? Homeless? Homeless? Going to jail?”
The organization has successfully advocated more than 50 legislative reforms, including financial aid to universities and extended foster care for some people aged 18 to 21.
Former U.S. Congresswoman and current Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said Burton was determined to attend her public inauguration in June despite the health challenges, and he did.
“His lifelong work reminds us that real leadership means having the courage to tell the truth and never forget where you are from,” she said.
In addition to his daughter Kimiko, Burton has two grandsons Juan and Mikala survived.
Plans to celebrate life are waiting. The family asked for a replacement for flowers, donating to John Burton’s youth advocates.
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