Assemblyman Burton: He’s Still a Firebrand

John Burton’s long hair has thinned. His bushy mustache has turned gray. The lines under his eyes have deepened.

But time and the highly publicized battle against drug and alcohol abuse that caused him to retire after eight years in Congress have not softened firebrand Burton’s wisecracking style or his liberal Democratic politics.

With the exception of sipping club soda at campaign fund-raisers, Burton, 55, seems to be back in full swing after winning a special Assembly election in April and returning to the Legislature after a 14-year absence.

Burton said his fight to overcome his drug and alcohol problem has taught him that “I’m an addictive person (who cannot) take a drink or take some cocaine or probably even smoke some grass.”

Freewheeling Freshman in 1965

As a freewheeling freshman new to Sacramento in 1965, Burton quickly gained a “bad boy” reputation in the Assembly by opposing the successful speakership bid of powerful Democratic Assemblyman Jesse M. Unruh. As punishment, Unruh sent him packing to a closet-size Capitol office and gave the San Franciscan a seat on the Agriculture Committee.

Burton also gained attention for railing against the Vietnam War when the majority of Americans still supported it, seeking to ban such war toys as bazookas and constantly getting under the skin of then-Gov. Ronald Reagan. At one point, Reagan termed Burton “the one man in Sacramento who has the most to fear from the squirrels in Capitol Park.”

Now, Burton is back, reviving his reputation as a barbed-tongued partisan.

Now, a longtime friend, Assemblyman Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), is Speaker. Brown encouraged Burton to re-enter politics, and upon his victory rewarded him with a seat on the prestigious Ways and Means Committee.

While some veteran lobbyists suggest that Burton is more self-controlled than he once was, he seldom misses a chance to rattle his colleagues. During a recent hectic floor session, Burton was arguing for a bill, but when it seemed no one was listening, he deadpanned: “It’s probably not that important because they just blew up the Golden Gate Bridge.”

Even with the attention-getting gimmick, it took Burton several minutes to get a reaction from his colleagues.

Not surprisingly, Democrats say they value Burton’s humor, savvy and perspective. Some Republicans, while saying that they personally respect Burton, regard him as a relic of the do-your-own-thing 1960s.

Assembly Republican Leader Pat Nolan of Glendale, a staunch conservative, maintained that Burton is “a fish out of water in the new Legislature. The times have really changed. He’s still a product of the hippies (and) flower children.”

Burton scoffed at the suggestion, declaring, “I didn’t know Republicans were the arbiters of who there is a place for” in the Legislature.

As partisan as he is, Burton understands the value of building bridges to the political opposition.

During Assembly floor sessions, he restlessly prowls the aisles, paying special attention to GOP legislators or, as he put it, “working the other side of the street,” looking for the extra votes that could make the difference on a controversial bill. Burton said this kind of bridge-building is more important than ever because “Republicans now seem to me to be much less independent and much more partisan.”

Burton trumpeted his return to the Assembly floor last month with typical relish. Raising his microphone, Burton, in an ear-piercing monotone, sought to attract the attention of the presiding officer by bellowing: “Mr. Speeaaker, Mr. Speeaaker, Mr. Speeaaker.”

Tongue in Cheek

Once recognized, Burton, with tongue-in-cheek, unsuccessfully pushed for approval of a measure asking the news media to refrain from describing Gov. George Deukmejian’s recently abandoned tax “adjustments” as a “tax increase.” Burton said his proposal was triggered by Deukmejian’s declaration when he had withdrawn the tax proposal because reporters had “misrepresented” it as a tax increase.

The resolution failed, but Burton maintained, “It made the point that the governor abdicated . . . his responsibility as chief executive to seek responsible solutions and then turned around and blamed it on the press.”

Much of Burton’s political life was spent in the shadow of his legendary older brother, Phillip, who died in 1983.

Phillip, who reigned over liberal politics in San Francisco for more than two decades, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1964, and John was elected to fill the Assembly seat that Phillip had held.

As a self-proclaimed blue-collar liberal, John Burton, a lawyer who had worked as a bartender and a playground director, sought to lower the legal workweek to 35 hours and supported other pro-labor measures.

Burton was among the early supporters of the presidential bids of Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and George McGovern in 1972, and he served as chairman of the state Democratic Party in the early 1970s.

In 1974, Burton became one of 75 Democrats to ride the crest of President Richard M. Nixon’s unpopularity to Congress where Phillip Burton had become a powerful voice among House Democrats.

An unchallenged master of the arcane business of reapportionment, Phillip Burton carved out a safely Democratic district for his brother.

In 1982, John Burton suddenly announced that he would not seek reelection, citing personal reasons. Later he admitted the problem had been drugs and alcohol.

In a 1984 interview, Burton recalled his last year in Congress, saying: “I didn’t really think I had a problem” with drug abuse. “I don’t know what the hell I thought was happening. There were times when I would stop, or try to stop, and I’d be so depressed I couldn’t function without doing something. I’d stop using one drug and substitute another.”

In a recent interview in his Assembly office, he observed: “It’s always easy to stop. What’s hard is not to start again.” On occasion, he said, he still attends meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Appointed to Commission

Burton began to put his life together. He was appointed by his old friend Speaker Brown to the California Medical Assistance Commission, which oversees contracts involving the state’s Medi-Cal program, and he practiced law in San Francisco, becoming a City Hall lobbyist for corporate interests.

The election of Assemblyman Art Agnos as mayor of San Francisco last December opened the way for Burton to attempt a comeback. In the heavily Democratic district that Agnos had represented, Burton ran against Roberta Achtenberg, a lesbian who was seeking to mobilize the power of San Francisco’s homosexual community to win a seat in the Assembly. But Burton, who has supported gay rights, won with support from Brown.

Brown, who has known Burton since 1951, described his friend as a loyal ally and as someone who has “looked life in the eye.”

Said Brown: “There are no more worlds he needs to conquer for his ego. Most politicians aren’t blessed with that.”