Laurel Rosenhall, who covers California politics and government for The New York Times, writes about the legacy of John Burton, and the state’s political past and future.
‘I Loved His Pop’
On a breezy evening in California’s capital city, the man who launched Gavin Newsom’s political career was remembering the man who had encouraged him to give Newsom a chance in the first place. Willie Brown and John Burton met in 1951 when they lined up beside each other at San Francisco State. Their conversation on campus that day sparked a friendship that would shape California politics for decades, help Democrats win control of state government and push San Francisco’s brand of liberalism to both national prominence and national derision. Burton went on to become a state assemblyman, U.S. congressman, State Senate leader and chair of the California Democratic Party. Brown became State Assembly speaker and mayor of San Francisco. They used their power to steer progressive policy and build a network of kindred politicians, including Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer and Kamala Harris. Burton and Newsom’s father, William Newsom, were friends growing up together in San Francisco in the 1940s. Decades later, when Brown was mayor, Burton recommended the younger Newsom for a post in city government. The year was 1996, and the post turned out to be an appointment on the San Francisco Parking and Traffic Commission. “I loved his pop,” Burton wrote in his memoir, before describing how frustrated he became with Newsom’s early approach to homelessness in San Francisco. The book, “I Yell Because I Care: The Passion and Politics of John Burton, California’s Liberal Warrior,” was published just a few days before Burton died on Sept. 7 at age 92. In a courtyard a block from the State Capitol last week, Burton’s friends and former staffers gathered to remember him, dabbing at their eyes and hugging. The toasts over beer and sliders were peppered with Burton’s trademark F-bombs. The gathering in Sacramento was scheduled before his death, to celebrate the book’s publication and raise money for an organization he founded to help foster youth.
In a room beside the courtyard, Newsom visited privately with Burton’s daughter, Kimiko Burton. He never took the stage. Still, amid the remembrances, there was an unspoken sense that a younger generation of California politicians had come to pay their respects to those who came before them. Long before Newsom was making headlines by battling President Trump and debating whether to run for the White House himself, he was a political rookie relying on the counsel, and appointments, of his elders. As the event ended, I caught up with Brown and asked him whether he thought the era of dominance for San Francisco Democrats was over. There’s no longer a San Francisco Democrat in the speaker’s office in Washington, D.C., since Pelosi handed over the gavel in 2023. Another San Francisco Democrat ran for president last year and lost. The party has lost its sway in the halls of power, and is struggling to figure out what it will take to win. Are Democrats nationally done promoting San Franciscans? Brown’s answer was not surprising. “As a San Francisco Democrat, I think we will all be doing everything we can to get Newsom elected to the presidency,” Brown told me. “We’re good at what we do, and we will continue to be good at what we do.” John Burton will lie in state at San Francisco City Hall from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday. Click to read an obituary of John Burton. Other California news
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