Konni Lyn Burton (born April 15, 1963) is an American
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
woman who is 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 ...
former member of the
Texas State Senate
The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...
for
District 10 District 10 may refer to:
Places
*District 10 (Ho Chi Minh city), Vietnam
*District 10 (Zürich), in Switzerland
* District 10, an electoral district of Malta
* District 10, a police district of Malta
*District 10 School, a historic school in Marga ...
. Backed by the
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...
, Burton on January 13, 2015, succeeded
Wendy R. Davis of
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, who vacated the state Senate after her unsuccessful campaign as the
Democratic gubernatorial
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...
nominee
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
* t ...
in the
2014 Texas gubernatorial election.
Early life, education, and career
Burton holds a
Bachelor of Business Administration
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...
degree from the
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...
.
[Sen. Konnie Burton, District 10 (R-Colleyville)](_blank)
''Texas Tribune'' Ethics Explorer (last accessed January 2, 2017). Burton is a
homemaker
Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...
; she previously was the owner of a wedding consulting business.
Political career
Before running for office, Burton was vice president of the NE Tarrant Tea Party.
2014 election
In the 2014 elections, Burton was "considered a rock star in Republican circles."
[Anna M. Tinsley]
Konni Burton reclaims Texas Senate District 10 for Republican Party
''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' (November 4, 2014). In the March 4, 2014 Republican
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
(and the May 27, 2014 primary
runoff
Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to:
* RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program
* Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed
* Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...
) for the state Senate, Burton was endorsed by
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
.
[Anna M. Tinsley]
Ted Cruz stands in support of Konni Burton: Cruz said Konni Burton is the candidate needed to replace Wendy Davis in the Texas Senate
'' Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' (March 19, 2014). In the first round, Burton came in first place among the five-way Republican field, garnering 43% of the vote and advancing to a runoff against former
State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
Mark M. Shelton, who received 35 percent.
In the primary runoff, Burton gained the Republican nomination; Burton received 17,435 votes (60%), while Shelton received 11,515 votes (40%).
Burton then defeated the Democratic nominee, Libby Willis, who carried Wendy Davis's support, 95,484 votes (53%) to 80,806 (45%), retaking the Senate seat for the Republicans.
State Senate tenure
Burton is a member of the Higher Education, Criminal Justice, Nominations, and Veteran Affairs & Military Installations committees, and serves as vice-chair of the latter committee.
A
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
Baker Institute study of Texas Senate roll-call votes from January 2011 to May 2017 showed that Burton was the most conservative member of the Texas Senate.
During the
2016 Republican presidential primaries, Burton was a staunch supporter of
Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
.
[Anna M. Tinsley]
High-profile Texans still can't support Donald Trump
''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' (July 20, 2016).
Abortion
Burton is an
opponent of abortion. She supported legislation to defund
Planned Parenthood
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
by cutting off its
Medicaid
Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
funds, even for non-abortion general healthcare services. She opposed the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
's decision in ''
Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt
''Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt'', 579 U.S. 582 (2016), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court decided on June 27, 2016. The Court ruled 5–3 that Texas cannot place restrictions on the delivery of abortion services that create a ...
'' (which struck down Texas's restrictive abortion law as unconstitutional) saying that she was "extremely disappointed" in the ruling. Burton took office in January 2015 wearing
cowboy boots
Cowboy boots are a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They have a High-heeled footwear#Men and heels, high heel that is traditionally made of stacked leather, rounded to pointed toe, high shaft, and, traditionally, no l ...
bearing the phrase "Stand for Life," a fashion statement mirrored after Wendy Davis' choice of pink tennis shoes during 2013's abortion bill filibuster.
[Dave Montgomery]
New Tarrant senator makes a statement with her footwear
''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' (January 13, 2015).
Economy
Burton barred taxpayer-funded lobbyists (i.e., lobbyists representing governmental entities) from her office, and supported legislation to ban governmental entities from hiring lobbyists.
Burton has supported limitations on local control in Texas, saying that the state should "step in" to restrict
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
from passing ordinances that regulate issues such as the
phase-out of lightweight plastic bags
A plastic bag ban is a law that restricts the use of lightweight plastic bags at retail establishments. In the early 21st century, there has been a global trend towards the phase-out of lightweight plastic bags. Single-use plastic shopping bags, c ...
and
Uber
Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), package ...
. Burton also opposes local ordinances banning
texting while driving
Texting while driving, also called texting and driving, is the act of composing, sending, or reading text messages on a mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle. Texting while driving is considered extremely dangerous by many people, includi ...
.
Burton has introduced legislation in the Senate to abolish
civil asset forfeiture
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
*Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a member ...
in the state.
Education
In November 2016, Burton introduced S.B. 242, which would amend state law to make a parent entitled to all of a school district's written records about their child's "general physical, psychological or emotional well-being" and provide that an attempt by a school employee to conceal or encourage a child to withhold information would be grounds for discipline.
[Carol Christian]
Senator: Proposed bill wouldn't force schools to 'out' LGBTQ students
''Houston Chronicle'' (November 18, 2016). Burton introduced the bill in response to
Fort Worth Independent School District
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
guidelines (later rescinded) that sought to protect transgender students from being "
outed
Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...
" to their parents.
[Mary Tuma]
After Filing Bill Forcing Schools to Out LGBTQ Kids, Legislator Bullies Media
''Austin Chronicle'' (November 21, 2016). The bill was condemned by
LGBT advocates such as
Equality Texas
Equality Texas is a statewide political advocacy organization in Texas that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, including same-sex marriage.
History
Equality Texas was founded in 1989 as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit cor ...
,
[Aliyya Swaby]
Educators say parental rights bill could harm trust with students
''Texas Tribune'' (November 30, 2016). which issued a statement saying that "the legislation would essentially destroy protected communications between a student and an educator. The bill was also opposed by the Texas State Teachers Association and educators' groups, who said that the bill could harm trust between teachers and students and potentially force teachers to share "unsubstantiated rumors" with parents.
According to the ''
Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
'', Burton refused to field questions from the press in regard to SB 242, directing them instead to her website.
Amid the furor, Burton's chief of staff said that her legislation would not force schools to "
out
Out may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
* ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander
* ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...
" LGBT students.
On the other hand, supporters of Burton's bill have been quick to point out that the bill was created in response to a Fort Worth School District deciding to withhold information from parents (without any parental input).
Additionally, Burton herself has stressed on numerous occasions that the words "sexuality" and "gender" are not listed in the bill. Instead, the bill would require the release of written documentation of a students "general physical, psychological or emotional well-being", which many people believe is a parental right and therefore cannot be circumvented by local school districts.
On Friday February 9, 2018, Burton walked during a presentation by County Judge Glen Whitley of
Hurst
Hurst may refer to:
Places England
* Hurst, Berkshire, a village
* Hurst, North Yorkshire, a hamlet
* Hurst, a settlement within the village of Martock, Somerset
* Hurst, West Sussex, a hamlet
* Hurst Spit, a shingle spit in Hampshire
** Hurs ...
. Whitley challenged that the reason that local property taxes were high is that the state was budgeting for a 14 percent local tax increase instead of increasing funds for education. Burton countered in an open letter posted on her official webpage that Whitley was " … was uninformed at best and willfully misleading at worst."
2018 re-election bid
Burton lost her bid for reelection in the general election held on November 6, 2018, to Democratic nominee
Beverly Powell
Beverly Powell (born September 18, 1951), is an American politician from the U.S. state, state of Texas. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, she represented District 10 in the Texas Senate from 2019 to 2023.
In 2018, Powell defeated i ...
, a businesswoman and a former president of the
Burleson Independent School District Burleson may refer to:
Places
* Burleson, Texas
* Burleson County, Texas
* Old Burleson, Alabama
People with the surname
* Albert S. Burleson, American postmaster general and congressman
* Alec Burleson (born 1998), American baseball player
* ...
school board who carried the endorsement of the ''
Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
''. Powell unseated Burton, 148,544 (51.7 percent) to 138,695 (48.3 percent).
Later career
Following the election, Burton founded the online right wing website ''The Texan'' in 2019.
Personal life
Burton and her husband, Phil,
have two adopted daughters.
[Bobby Cervantes]
Dan Patrick, calling for more foster parents, says state elected officials 'have opened their homes'
PolitiFact Texas (October 28, 2016). Phil Burton is the vice president of the
McKinney, Texas
McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano and Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about north of Dallas.
The U.S. Census Bureau l ...
branch of construction manufacturing company
Simpson Strong-Tie.
According to financial disclosure forms, in addition to their home in Colleyville, the Burtons own two condos in
Port Aransas
Port Aransas ( ) is a city in Nueces County, Texas, United States. This city is 180 miles southeast of San Antonio. The population was 2,904 at the 2020 census. Port Aransas is the only established town on Mustang Island. It is located north of ...
, which they rent out, and 107 acres in
Hamilton County west of
Waco
Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...
, Texas.
The Burtons belong to the Calvary
Lutheran Church
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
in
Richland Hills
Richland Hills is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,801 at the 2010 census.
Government
Richland Hills operates under a charter adopted in 1986, which provides for a "Council-Manager" form of government. The Cou ...
in Tarrant County; she is a former member of the church council.
References
External links
*
Konni Burtontopics at ''
The Texas Tribune
''The Texas Tribune'' is a news website headquartered in Austin, Texas. It aims to promote civic engagement through original, explanatory journalism and public events.
Its website and content in various delivery platforms serve as an alternativ ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Konni
Living people
People from Kerrville, Texas
People from Nueces County, Texas
People from Colleyville, Texas
Republican Party Texas state senators
Businesspeople from Texas
University of North Texas alumni
American Lutherans
American anti-abortion activists
Tea Party movement activists
Activists from Texas
21st-century American politicians
Christians from Texas
1963 births