Lon Maxwell Burnam (born July 11, 1953) is a former member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

for District 90, which encompasses downtown

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 ...

, Texas, and surrounding areas. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Burnam is the former executive director of the Dallas Peace Center. He was initially elected to the state House in 1996. On March 2, 2016, Burnam ran last with 269,853 votes (24.8 percent) in a three-candidate field in the Democratic

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 ...

for the seat on the

Texas Railroad Commission The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC; also sometimes called the Texas Railroad Commission, TRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and su ...

being vacated by the

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 ...

David J. Porter. The two remaining Democratic candidates, Cody Garrett, who polled 382,647 votes (35.2 percent), and Grady Yarbrough, with 434,137 votes (40 percent), will met in the May 24

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

to choose the party nominee for the position. Burnam holds a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in government from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. He holds two master's degree, one from UT-Austin and the second in municipal and regional planning from the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of Te ...

. He is a member of the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

or the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

Church. In 2007 when TX House of Representative Debbie Riddle authored HB1034 to amend the TX state pledge of allegiance to the State flag by adding the words "one state under God" in order to acknowledge our "Judeo-Christian heritage", Burnam challenged her, noting the many denominations present in Texas that do not align with that heritage. Representative Riddle replied, "The purpose of this bill is to have our state pledge mirror our national pledge. Our national pledge says, 'one nation under God.' dded 1954I think it is altogether right and appropriate..." HB1034 passed May 4, 2007.

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* * 1953 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Fort Worth, Texas American Quakers University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni University of Texas at Arlington alumni 21st-century American politicians {{Texas-politician-stub