Former U.S. Representative, California State Senate President Pro Tempore John Burton has died
He was a member of a prominent family.
John Burton was a longtime leading figure in California. He passed away on September 7, 2025.
Burton was first elected to the California State Assembly in 1964. Nine years later, he also became Chairman of the California chapter of the Democratic Party. He left both of those roles in 1974. That year, Burton won a special election for a seat in the United States House of Representatives from the 6th District. The election was held following the resignation of Republican incumbent William S. Mailliard, who had been appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American State by Richard Nixon.
Not long afterward, Burton was moved to California’s 5th District, where he won four more races for Congress. He did not run for re-election to the U.S. House in 1982, but later won another special election in 1988 for a return to the State Assembly. In that case, it was held to fill the vacancy left by Art Agnos, the newly elected Mayor of San Francisco.
Burton was re-elected to the Assembly four more times before winning a race for the California State Senate in 1996. He rose to President Pro Tempore of the Senate two years later. After winning another bid in 2000, Burton departed from the legislature in 2004. He later chaired the California Democratic Party again from 2009 to 2017 and was a member of the San Francisco Port Commission from 2020 until 2023.
John Burton was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated from what is now San Francisco State University and the University of San Francisco School of Law. Additionally, Burton served in the United States Army and was stationed for a time in Austria.
Burton’s brother Phillip was as a California State Assemblyman and a U.S. Representative. Phillip was still a member of Congress when he died suddenly in 1983 from an aortic aneurysm. A sister-in-law, Sala, was likewise elected to the U.S. House and held the office under her death due to colon cancer in 1987.
John’s daughter Kimiko was appointed to the California State Personnel Board by Governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom. She had previously been the Public Defender of San Francisco.
Burton was the second former California Congressman to have died in less than two weeks. He followed Republican Duke Cunningham.