Burke Day (April 12, 1954 – March 5, 2017) was an American politician and author.

Early life and education

Cecil Burke Day, Jr was born in

Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the 14th-largest city in North Carolina. Jacksonville is the county seat and most populous commun ...

Cecil B. Day Cecil Burke Day (December 10, 1934 – December 15, 1978) was an American hotelier, known for founding the hotel chain Days Inn. Biography Day studied at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, but withdrew prior to graduation to join the United ...

and Marian (Deen) Uldine Smith Day. One of four sons born to the couple. His father was a real estate developer, and founder of the

Days Inn Days Inn is a hotel chain headquartered in the United States. It was founded in 1970 by Cecil B. Day, who opened the first location in Tybee Island, Georgia. The brand is now a part of the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, headquartered in Parsippan ...

motel chain. Young Day went to

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. He later moved to

Tybee Island, Georgia Tybee Island is a city and a barrier island located in Chatham County, Georgia, 18 miles (29 km) east of Savannah, United States. Though the name "Tybee Island" is used for both the island and the city, geographically they are not identical ...

, site of his father's first Days Inn, where he worked in real estate and investments.

Political career

Day was first elected to public office as a member of the Tybee Island City Council. He served on the Council from 1991 to 1994. In 1994 he was elected to the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

representing District 153. He took office in January 1995 at a time when his brother, Clinton M. Day, served as a member of the

Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia ...

. Burke Day continued to serve in the Georgia House for 8 consecutive terms (16 years), until January 2011. Day served on the Appropriations, Defense & Veterans Affairs, and Public Safety & Homeland Security committees. He was chairman of Georgia’s Homeland Security and Public Safety. He was perhaps best known for the Stephens-Day legislation, which froze the taxable value of residential property at the time the property was purchased, protecting homeowners from being taxed out of their homes when property values went up.

Later years

Day wrote a book about his father, who died at age 44. It tells the story of Cecil B. Day, Sr., and how he built the

motel chain. ''Day by Day: The Story of Cecil B. Day and his Simple Formula for Success'' was published in 2000. Burke Day died at his home in Tybee Island, Georgia on March 5, 2017, from complications of a stroke. Day also suffered from

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

.Georgia General Assembly-Burke Day
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Notes

External links

Find a Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Burke 1954 births 2017 deaths People from Jacksonville, North Carolina People from Chatham County, Georgia Mercer University alumni Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) city council members Republican Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives 20th-century American businesspeople