Daniel Wright Burgess Jr. (born June 1, 1986) is an American politician who currently serves as a

Florida State Senator The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopte ...

from District 20, which includes parts of Tampa,

Thonotosassa Thonotosassa is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 15,238 at the 2020 census, up from 13,014 at the 2010 census. History The name "Thonotosassa" comes from the Seminole- Creek w ...

New Tampa New Tampa is a region in Florida that encompasses both a area within the corporate limits of the City of Tampa, as well as a larger land area that is in unincorporated Hillsborough, but retains a Tampa mailing address. The incorporated portion ...

, and

Zephyrhills Zephyrhills is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. The population was counted at 17,194 in the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. Zephyrhills is also known as the headquarters of the Zephyrhil ...

. He previously served as the executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs, as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, and as the mayor of

History

Burgess was born in

Zephyrhills, Florida Zephyrhills is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. The population was counted at 17,194 in the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. Zephyrhills is also known as the headquarters of the Zephyrhill ...

in 1986 and attended the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

. While a college student, he was elected to the Zephyrhills City Council in 2005, defeating Celia Graham with 60 percent of the vote. Burgess was re-elected in 2007, defeating Richard Kaeberlein with 82 percent of the vote, and he served as President of the City Council. In 2008, after he graduated with a degree in political science, he resigned from the City Council to attend the

Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law The Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law (also known as Barry Law) is located in Orlando, Florida. The school is an academic college of Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. Barry Law offers various programs for full-time and part-time students ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, graduating with his Juris Doctor in 2011. Upon graduation, he was commissioned in the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called jud ...

of the

U.S. Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 20 ...

as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

and continues to serve in the rank of captain. He also began practicing with Johnson, Auvil, Pratico & Chane PA. After the Mayor of Zephyrhills resigned after he faced impeachment proceedings over allegations of sexual harassment, Burgess ran in a special election to succeed him, and won, serving out the final year of the previous mayor's term. He did not run for re-election in 2014.

Florida House of Representatives

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, incumbent State Representative

Will Weatherford Will Weatherford (born November 14, 1979) is an American politician who was a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014, representing the 61st District from 2006 to 2012 and the 38th District, which included east ...

was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, so Burgess ran to succeed him. He won 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 ...

primary unopposed, and advanced to the general election, where he faced retired social studies teacher Beverly Ledbetter. During the campaign, the ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' endorsed Ledbetter over him, criticizing Burgess for not having a "similar grasp of state issues" as Ledbetter and for having uninformed priorities. However, Burgess won against Ledbetter with 60 percent of the vote. Burgess was re-elected unopposed in 2016. Independent candidate David T. K. Hayes challenged him in 2018, but Burgess won re-election with 66 percent of the vote.

Department of Veterans' Affairs

On December 15, 2018,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

-elect

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Repres ...

announced that he would appoint Burgess as executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs. Burgess's appointment was unanimously approved by the Cabinet on January 24, 2019.

Florida Senate

After Senator Tom Lee announced in May 2020 that he would retire early from the Florida Senate, Burgess announced he would run in the special election to succeed him. Burgess was unopposed in the Republican primary and defeated Democratic nominee Kathy Lewis in the general election, 54.8 to 45.2 percent. In January 2021 Burgess introduced legislation to protect

Confederate monuments In the United States, the public display of Confederate monuments, memorials and symbols has been and continues to be controversial. The following is a list of Confederate monuments and memorials that were established as public displays and symb ...

; permit the state to overrule local governments' decisions to reduce funding for police; waive

sovereign immunity Sovereign immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine whereby a sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution, strictly speaking in modern texts in its own courts. A similar, stronger ...

for municipalities, thereby allowing local authorities to be sued for providing inadequate law enforcement; and block people injured while participating in protests from receiving

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

lawyer Kara Gross described the bill as an attempt "to silence and criminalize Black protesters and their allies who are exercising their

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

rights."

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives – Danny BurgessDanny Burgess for State Representative
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Danny University of South Florida alumni Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 1986 births Living people People from Zephyrhills, Florida Florida city council members Mayors of places in Florida Barry University alumni 21st-century American politicians