Bill Burton (political consultant)

Bill Burton (born August 9, 1977)[1] is an American political consultant and communication strategist who served as Deputy White House Press Secretary in the Obama Admininstration from 2009 to 2011.

Bill Burton
Deputy White House Press Secretary
In office
December 19, 2009 – February 11, 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
LeaderRobert Gibbs
Preceded byJen Psaki
Succeeded byJosh Earnest
Personal details
Born (1977-08-09) August 9, 1977
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Kelly Ward Burton (m. 2019)
Alma materUniversity of Minnesota (B.A.)

Early life and Education

Burton was born in Buffalo, New York on August 9, 1977.[1] He was raised by a single father, Troy Burton, from the age of 11.[2] Burton graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature.[3] Burton is biracial.[4]

Career

Burton worked as a press secretary for Bill Luther.[1] He was press secretary for Tom Harkin from 2001 to 2003, and communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in the 2006 election cycle.[5][1] He has worked on the campaign of Richard Gephardt, John Kerry, and Barack Obama.[6] Burton signed on with candidate Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) after Gephardt dropped out of the presidential race of 2004. Kerry lost the White House to incumbent George W. Bush after winning the Democratic nomination.[7] In 2007, Burton joined the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, where he worked as national press secretary.[8]

During the Obama administration, Burton served as Deputy White House Press Secretary under Robert Gibbs from December 2009 until February 2011. He was also a Junior Deputy Press Secretary from January 2009 to December 2009 until Jen Psaki was promoted to Deputy White House Communications Director. In the role, Burton served as an adviser to the president and was tasked with briefing reporters. Burton also frequently traveled with the president on domestic and international visits.[9][10][11]

Burton left the White House in February 2011 to launch a consulting firm with White House adviser Sean Sweeney after a competition for Gibbs' job, which was eventually given to Jay Carney.[7]

He was a co-founder and senior strategist with the Priorities USA Action super PAC.[5][12][13] In January 2013, Burton was hired by Global Strategy Group, a Public Relations firm based in New York City.[14]

Burton is currently the Managing Director of SKDKnickerbocker's California office in Los Angeles.

Howard Schultz's possible 2020 run

On January 28, 2019, it was reported that Burton, along with Steve Schmidt, had been hired to help manage a potential presidential run by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.[15] Burton briefly left SKDKnickerbocker to join his team as communications adviser.[16][17] In September 2019, Schultz officially announced that he would not run in 2020, citing health concerns.

Personal life

In 2007, he married Laura Capps, daughter of former California congresswoman Lois Capps.[2] They have one son, Oscar, and lived in Santa Barbara, California before divorcing.[18][19]

Burton married Kelly Burton (née Ward) on April 6, 2019.

References
  1. "Bill Burton". Washington Post Politics. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  2. Halbfinger, David M. (July 15, 2007). "Laura Capps and Bill Burton". The New York Times.
  3. "Bill Burton | HuffPost". www.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  4. Goff, Keli (2009-04-28). Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-7867-3232-6.
  5. "Bill Burton, former Deputy White House Press Secretary to speak with Rose Institute students on April 13 at 6:00 pm (Kravis Center 437) | The Rose Institute of State and Local Government". roseinstitute.org. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  6. "Bill Burton". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  7. "Bill Burton". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  8. Stein, Sam (February 14, 2009). "Bill Burton Heading To Obama White House". Huffington Post.
  9. "Bill Burton". Politicon. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  10. Merica, Dan; Alesci, Cristina; Buck, Rebecca; Zeleny, Jeff. "Former Obama aide joins Howard Schultz's team. Democrats aren't happy". CNN. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  11. "Obama's press spokesman Robert Gibbs to leave". Reuters. 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  12. "Priorities USA Action". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  13. "PR Week's 2016 40 Under 40: Bill Burton". SKDKnickerbocker. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  14. Joseph, Cameron (January 18, 2013). "Bill Burton heads to Global Strategy Group". The Hill.
  15. O'Keefe, Ed; Montoya-Galvez, Camilo. "Howard Schultz makes political hires as he mulls 2020 bid". CBS News. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  16. Schwartz, Brian (2019-01-28). "Ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, mulling presidential run, hires ex-Obama aide as communications advisor". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  17. Merica, Dan; Alesci, Cristina; Buck, Rebecca; Zeleny, Jeff. "Former Obama aide joins Howard Schultz's team. Democrats aren't happy". CNN. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  18. Mar 19, Indy Staff Thu; 2015 | 12:00am (2015-03-19). "Family Business". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  19. Laviola, Erin (2019-01-30). "Bill Burton: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
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