John L. Burton

John Lowell Burton (born December 15, 1932) is the Chairman of the California Democratic Party since April 2009 and a professor of California Politics at San Francisco State University. He is an American politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1965 until 1974, in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1974 until 1983, in the State Assembly again from 1988 until 1996, and in the California State Senate from 1996 until 2004 (representing the 3rd district).

Life and career

Burton earned a BA degree in social science in 1954 from San Francisco State University and was the University’s Alumnus of the Year in 1998. From 1998 until he was forced out of office by term limits in 2004, he served as the President pro tempore of the State Senate. Prior to his time in the Senate, he served in the California State Assembly from 1965 until 1974, and again from 1988 until 1996. He was originally elected to the Assembly to succeed his brother Phillip Burton, who had been elected to Congress. He was returned to the Assembly in a 1988 special election to succeed Art Agnos, who had been elected Mayor of San Francisco. Burton also served in the U.S. House of Representatives, alongside his brother, from 1975 until 1982, when he resigned.