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 Administration from 2009 to 2011.

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

Burton is the founder and president of Bryson Gillette, a political and strategic communications firm based in Los Angeles.[2]

Early life and education

Burton was born in Buffalo, New York on August 9, 1977.[1] He is the son of Troy Burton, who is African American,[3][4] and a white mother.[5] Burton graduated from the University of Minnesota, earning a bachelor's degree in English literature with a focus on African American literature.[6]

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.[7][1] He has worked on the campaigns of Richard Gephardt, John Kerry, and Barack Obama.[8] 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.[9] In 2007, Burton joined the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, where he worked as national press secretary.[10]

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 Special Assistant to the President during the same time. 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.[11][12][13] Burton was the first White House employee to have an official Twitter account.[14]

Burton left the White House in February 2011. He was a co-founder and senior strategist with the Priorities USA Action super PAC,[7][15][16] Referring to Priorities USA Action's "Stage" ad[17] criticizing Mitt Romney before the 2012 presidential election, Frank Luntz said “that ad alone has killed Mitt Romney in Ohio.”[18] In January 2013, Burton helped open the Washington, D.C. office of Global Strategy Group, a Public Relations firm based in New York City.[19]

SKDKnickerbocker later hired Burton to open their California office in Los Angeles. In 2020, he launched Bryson Gillette, a minority-owned political and strategic communications firm 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 consider a potential presidential run by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.[20] 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.[3] They have one son, Oscar, and lived in Santa Barbara, California before divorcing.[21][22]

Burton married Kelly Ward Burton, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee,[23] on April 6, 2019.

References
  1. "Bill Burton". Washington Post Politics. Archived from the original on 2013-02-23. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  2. "Home". Bryson Gillette. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  3. Halbfinger, David M. (July 15, 2007). "Laura Capps and Bill Burton". The New York Times.
  4. Zremski, Jerry. "Troy Allen Burton, steelworker and father of Obama aide". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  5. Goff, Keli (2009-04-28). Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-7867-3232-6.
  6. "Bill Burton | HuffPost". www.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  7. "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.
  8. "Bill Burton". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  9. "Bill Burton". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  10. Stein, Sam (February 14, 2009). "Bill Burton Heading To Obama White House". Huffington Post.
  11. "Bill Burton". Politicon. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  12. Merica, Dan; Alesci, Cristina; Buck, Rebecca; Zeleny, Jeff (29 January 2019). "Former Obama aide joins Howard Schultz's team. Democrats aren't happy". CNN. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  13. "Obama's press spokesman Robert Gibbs to leave". Reuters. 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  14. Smith, Ben. "Twittering from the White House". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  15. "Priorities USA Action". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  16. "PR Week's 2016 40 Under 40: Bill Burton". SKDKnickerbocker. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  17. "Stage - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  18. Kroll, Andy. "The Devastating Bain Ad That Could "Kill" Romney in Ohio". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  19. Joseph, Cameron (January 18, 2013). "Bill Burton heads to Global Strategy Group". The Hill.
  20. O'Keefe, Ed; Montoya-Galvez, Camilo. "Howard Schultz makes political hires as he mulls 2020 bid". CBS News. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  21. Mar 19, Indy Staff Thu; 2015 | 12:00am (2015-03-19). "Family Business". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  22. Laviola, Erin (2019-01-30). "Bill Burton: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  23. "Board of Directors and Leadership | National Democratic Redistricting Committee". democraticredistricting.com. 2017-12-04. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
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