Konni Burton

Konni Burton (born April 15, 1963)[1] is an American businesswoman who is a former Republican member of the Texas State Senate for District 10. Backed by the Tea Party movement, Burton on January 13, 2015, succeeded Wendy R. Davis of Fort Worth, who vacated the state Senate after her unsuccessful campaign as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in the 2014 Texas gubernatorial election.[2]

Konni Burton
Member of the Texas Senate from the 10th district
In office January 13, 2015 – January 8, 2019
Preceded by	Wendy Davis
Succeeded by	Beverly Powell
Personal details
Born	Kerrville, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Phil
Children	2
Residence	Colleyville, Tarrant County, Texas
Alma mater	University of North Texas
Occupation	Businesswoman

Early life, education, and career

Burton holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of North Texas.[3] Burton is a homemaker; she previously was the owner of a wedding consulting business.[3]

Political career

Before running for office, Burton was vice president of the NE Tarrant Tea Party.[4]

2014 election

In the 2014 elections, Burton was "considered a rock star in Republican circles."[5] In the March 4, 2014 Republican primary election (and the May 27, 2014 primary runoff) for the state Senate, Burton was endorsed by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz.[6] 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 Mark M. Shelton, who received 35 percent.[6][7] In the primary runoff, Burton gained the Republican nomination; Burton received 17,435 votes (60%), while Shelton received 11,515 votes (40%).[8]

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.[5][9][10]

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.[3]

A Rice University 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.[11]

During the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Burton was a staunch supporter of Ted Cruz.[12][13]

Abortion

Burton is an opponent of abortion. She supported legislation to defund Planned Parenthood by cutting off its Medicaid funds, even for non-abortion general healthcare services.[14] She opposed the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (which struck down Texas's restrictive abortion law as unconstitutional) saying that she was "extremely disappointed" in the ruling.[15] Burton took office in January 2015 wearing cowboy boots bearing the phrase "Stand for Life," a fashion statement mirrored after Wendy Davis' choice of pink tennis shoes during 2013's abortion bill filibuster.[16][17]

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.[18]

Burton has supported limitations on local control in Texas, saying that the state should "step in" to restrict municipalities from passing ordinances that regulate issues such as the phase-out of lightweight plastic bags and Uber.[19] Burton also opposes local ordinances banning texting while driving.[20]

Burton has introduced legislation in the Senate to abolish civil asset forfeiture in the state.[21][22]

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.[23][24] Burton introduced the bill in response to Fort Worth Independent School District guidelines (later rescinded) that sought to protect transgender students from being "outed" to their parents.[24][25] The bill was condemned by LGBT advocates[26] such as Equality Texas,[24][27] 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.[27] According to the Austin Chronicle, Burton refused to field questions from the press in regard to SB 242, directing them instead to her website.[25] Amid the furor, Burton's chief of staff said that her legislation would not force schools to "out" LGBT students.[24]

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).[28] 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.[28]

On Friday February 9, 2018, Burton walked during a presentation by County Judge Glen Whitley of Hurst. 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.[29] Burton countered in an open letter posted on her official webpage that Whitley was " … was uninformed at best and willfully misleading at worst."[30]

2018 re-election bid

Burton narrowly lost her bid for reelection in the general election held on November 6, 2018, to Democratic nominee Beverly Powell, a businesswoman and a former member of the Burleson Independent School District who carried the endorsement of the Dallas Morning News. Powell unseated Burton, 148,544 (51.7 percent) to 138,695 (48.3 percent).[31]

The Dallas Morning News said that Powell's experience in education made her ideal for tackling school funding issues at the legislative level. The Morning News also questioned Burton's effectiveness as a highly conservative lawmaker who began her political career with the Tea party. The newspaper opposes Burton's support for the bathroom bill that failed to obtain a vote in the state House in the 2017 special sessions.[32]

Personal life

Burton and her husband, Phil,[3][17] have two adopted daughters.[33] Phil Burton is the vice president of the McKinney, Texas branch of construction manufacturing company Simpson Strong-Tie.[3]

According to financial disclosure forms, in addition to their home in Colleyville, the Burtons own two condos in Port Aransas, which they rent out, and 107 acres in Hamilton County west of Waco, Texas.[3]

The Burtons belong to the Calvary Lutheran Church in Richland Hills in Tarrant County; she is a former member of the church council.[34]

References

1. Sen. Konni Burton (R), Texas State Directory (last updated February 23, 2016; last accessed January 2, 2017).
2. "Konni Burton reclaims Texas Senate District 10 for Republican Party". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 5, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
3. Sen. Konnie Burton, District 10 (R-Colleyville), Texas Tribune Ethics Explorer (last accessed January 2, 2017).
4. Morgan Smith, In North Texas, McCarty and Tea Party Flourish, Texas Tribune (September 26, 2015).
5. Anna M. Tinsley, Konni Burton reclaims Texas Senate District 10 for Republican Party, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (November 4, 2014).
6. 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).
7. 2014 Republican Party Primary Election: March 4, 2014, Secretary of State of Texas.
8. 2014 Republican Party Primary Runoff: March 4, 2014, Secretary of State of Texas.
9. "General election returns, November 4, 2014". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
10. Jeff Mosier, Tea Party activist Konni Burton will replace replace Democrat Wendy Davis in state Senate, Dallas News (November 4, 2014).
11. Mark P. Jones, The conservative drift of the Texas Senate: 2011-2017, Texas Tribune (July 17, 2017).
12. Anna M. Tinsley, High-profile Texans still can't support Donald Trump, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (July 20, 2016).
13. Anna M. Tinsley, Trump’s outspoken Texas spokeswoman likely will be around for awhile, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (December 14, 2015).
14. Anna M. Tinsley, Planned Parenthood in Texas will fight being kicked out of Medicaid program, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (December 21, 2016).
15. Amber Stegall, Government officials react to Supreme Court's ruling to overturn abortion law, KCBD (June 27, 2016).
16. Christy Hoppe, Republican Konni Burton wears 'Stand for Life' message on her boots, Dallas Morning News (January 13, 2015).
17. Dave Montgomery, New Tarrant senator makes a statement with her footwear, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (January 13, 2015).
18. "Colleyville senator not lending ear to taxpayer-funded lobbyists". Dallas Morning News. February 12, 2015.
19. Anna M. Tinsley, Texas lawmakers could target local control in 2017 if cities 'impede liberties', Fort Worth Star-Telegram (December 13, 2016).
20. Jason Whitely, Texting and driving bans test limits of local control, senator says, WFAA (July 31, 2016).
21. Dianna Wray, Texas Lawmakers Want to Make It Harder for the State to Take Stuff From People, Houston Press (December 22, 2016).
22. Eric Nicholson, A Salute to the Texas Tea Party, Dallas Observer (June 3, 2015).
23. S.B. No. 242: A Bill to be Entitled An Act relating to the right of a child ’s parent to public school records and information concerning the child
24. Carol Christian, Senator: Proposed bill wouldn't force schools to 'out' LGBTQ students, Houston Chronicle (November 18, 2016).
25. Mary Tuma, After Filing Bill Forcing Schools to Out LGBTQ Kids, Legislator Bullies Media, Austin Chronicle (November 21, 2016).
26. New Texas bill would force school to out gay students to their parents, critics say, CBS News (November 21, 2016).
27. Aliyya Swaby, Educators say parental rights bill could harm trust with students, Texas Tribune (November 30, 2016).
28. http://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/article118490303.html
29. Kennedy, Bud (February 10, 2018). "For one Republican, a day of truth-telling about Texas, schools and taxes". star-telegram. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
30. "Tarrant County Senators Respond to Uninformed "Truth-Teller" Judge Glen Whitley | Konni BurtonKonni Burton". konniburton.com. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
31. "Election Returns". Texas Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
32. "We recommend Beverly Powell for state Senate District 10". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
33. Bobby Cervantes, Dan Patrick, calling for more foster parents, says state elected officials 'have opened their homes', PolitiFact Texas (October 28, 2016).
34. "About Konni". konniburton.com. Retrieved December 1, 2014.