From Novice to Institution in Just 40 Years

When 34-year-old Talmadge V. Burke was appointed to the Alhambra City Commission on Feb. 19, 1952, he was a political novice merely following in the footsteps of his father, former Mayor Montivel A. Burke.

“He was just a skinny no one when he went in,” joked Warner Jenkins, editor emeritus of the Alhambra Post-Advocate and a close friend of Burke’s.

Forty years, 10 elections to what is now the City Council and several added pounds later, Burke has become something of an Alhambra institution.

He is the longest-running elected municipal official in the state, said Dwight Stenbakken of the League of California Cities. On Monday, he was sworn in as mayor for the 12th time (nine-month mayoral terms rotate among the council members).

Burke, a lawyer, lives in the same house where he grew up and has vowed never to leave Alhambra. Five generations of Burkes--from his grandmother down to his grandchildren--have lived, at one time or another, on the lot on North Olive Street.

When Burke was 40, his parents left the home to move to San Marino.

Neighboring cities have seen council members come and go every four or eight years, but a variety of factors have enabled Burke to stay in office so long, maintaining a loyal base of support.

With his father in the Assembly from 1944 to 1962, he benefited from widespread name recognition.

“He was a household name,” Burke said of his father, who died of a heart attack in 1966. “I was just a clone of my father.”

Burke, a Republican like his father, at one point thought of running for the Assembly himself. But Burke said gerrymandering in 1962 split his father’s 53rd District and placed the younger Burke’s home and law office in a heavily Democratic district.

Then in his 10th year on the council, Talmadge Burke gave up any hopes of campaigning for higher office.

His reputation in the city has apparently stymied any viable competition; he has been challenged in only five out of 10 elections for Alhambra’s 3rd Council District. Friends and former opponents say his steadfast devotion to public service has made him tough to beat.

“He has a very good track record,” said Councilwoman Barbara Messina, who campaigned in 1976 for a Burke opponent. “It’s really difficult to unseat someone if they’re doing a good job and you don’t have any big issues against them.”

Burke owns residential and commercial properties in Alhambra, including the land occupied by Economy Chevrolet on Main Street. Some election rivals have tried to find fault with that, but Burke counters that he always abstains from voting on matters that could affect his land.

Burke has never accepted campaign donations, and uses his own money to finance campaigns that recently have cost $35,000.

Even if they wanted to, none of Burke’s four council colleagues would be able to match his time in office. In 1976, Alhambra voters passed a measure limiting council members to three consecutive terms. The measure grandfathered in those on the council at the time; of those, only Burke remains.

And he has no intention of ending his record-setting career. He plans to run for an 11th term in November. “I see no reason to retire,” he said. “I’ve spent my life here. I’ve invested my talent in every waking moment. I feel I have something to offer, yet.”