Kimiko Burton, formerly Kimiko Burton-Cruz, is an American attorney and government official. Burton is serving a second term as a member of the

California State Personnel Board The California State Personnel Board (SPB), one of California's constitutional offices, is one of the California agencies responsible for administration of the merit-based civil service employment system for California state agencies, the other be ...

after having been reappointed by Governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California f ...

in 2019. From 2001 to 2003, Burton served as Public Defender of San Francisco.

Early life and education

Burton is the daughter of John Burton, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and past chair of the California Democratic Party, and Michele Burton. Both her uncle,

Phillip Burton Phillip Burton (June 1, 1926 – April 10, 1983) was an American politician and attorney who served as a United States representative from California from 1964 until his death in 1983. A Democrat, he was instrumental in creating the Golden Gate ...

, and her aunt,

Sala Burton Sala Burton (née Galante; April 1, 1925 – February 1, 1987) was a Polish-born American politician who served as a United States Representative from California from 1983 until her death from colon cancer in Washington, D. C., in 1987. Early ...

, served in the U.S. House. Burton's grandmother was a Hawaiian woman of Japanese descent. Burton graduated from Lowell High School and received her bachelor's degree from the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

. Prior to attending law school, Burton studied in

Kyoto, Japan Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the cit ...

at the Kyoto Japanese Language School (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: ''Kyoto Nihongo Gakko''), where she taught both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and French to fellow students. Burton received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the

University of California, Hastings College of the Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California as ...

in 1990.

Career

In the 1990s, Burton worked in the

San Francisco Public Defender's Office The San Francisco Public Defender's Office is an agency of the Government of San Francisco. Since 1921, it has provided legal assistance to indigent individuals charged with violations of California state law by the San Francisco District Attorne ...

. Burton later left the office to work at the California State Board of Equalization, where she served as counsel to Johan Klehs.

Public Defender of San Francisco

In January 2001, Burton was appointed by Mayor of San Francisco Willie Brown to replace Geoffrey F. Brown as Public Defender, following his appointment to the

California Public Utilities Commission The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC or PUC) is a regulatory agency that regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies. In addition ...

. Burton ran for a full term as Public Defender in 2002. In her campaign, Burton received endorsements from Brown, U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and

Dianne Feinstein Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( ; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who serves as the senior United States senator from California, a seat she has held since 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, she wa ...

, and Representative Nancy Pelosi. However, Burton ultimately lost the election to attorney Jeff Adachi, a former assistant public defender.

California State Personnel Board

Following her defeat, Burton remained active in politics, endorsing her former boss Johan Klehs in his 2002 campaign for State Controller. Burton went on to work for

Dennis Herrera Dennis Herrera is an American attorney, currently serving as Public Utilities Commission general manager for San Francisco. Herrera was previously City Attorney of San Francisco, known for his longtime legal advocacy for same-sex marriage in Cali ...

in the

City Attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city att ...

's office. Since 2012, Burton has served as a member of the

, having received a reappointment to the position in 2019 by Governor

. In September 2020, Burton and three fellow members of the board requested a 9.23% pay cut for their positions, in line with reduced compensation ordered for state workers earlier in the year.

Personal life

Burton was married to school board member Emilio Cruz. She currently lives with her two children in San Francisco, and serves on the board of directors of the John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Kimiko Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of California, Davis alumni University of California College of the Law, San Francisco alumni Lowell High School (San Francisco) alumni Lawyers from San Francisco American politicians of Japanese descent California politicians of Japanese descent 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians