Joel Burns (politician)

Joel Burns
Member of the Fort Worth City Council from the 9th District
In office
January 8, 2008 – July 15, 2014
Preceded byWendy Davis
Succeeded byAnn Zadeh
Personal details
Born (1969-02-04) February 4, 1969 (age 55)
Fort Worth, Texas
SpouseJ.D. Angle
Alma materTexas Wesleyan University
Professionrealtor
CommitteesLegislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, Economic and Community Development Committee, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee
Websitehttp://www.joelburns.com/

Joel Burns (born February 4, 1969) is an American politician. A city councilman for District 9 in Fort Worth, Texas,[1] he received extensive press attention in October 2010 after speaking at a council meeting about the issue of suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, as part of Dan Savage's It Gets Better campaign.[2]

Burns announced on February 11, 2014, that he was resigning his seat on Fort Worth City Council to pursue a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[3] In 2010, Burns completed Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a David Bohnett LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow. A special election to succeed him was held in May,[4] with a runoff scheduled for June 21[5] in which Ann Zadeh, a former city planner, defeated attorney Ed Lasater.[6] He received the degree in 2015.[7]

  1. ^ "District 9, City of Fort Worth". Fort Worth, Texas official web site. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  2. ^ "Councilman spoke out for gay teens 'who might be holding gun tonight'". CNN, October 15, 2010.
  3. ^ "Joel Burns resigns from Fort Worth City Council". Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 12, 2014.
  4. ^ "2 candidates file for Fort Worth council election". Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 18, 2014.
  5. ^ "Fort Worth council says goodbye to Burns". Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 10, 2014.
  6. ^ Hirst, Caty (June 21, 2014). "Ann Zadeh wins race for Fort Worth City Council". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  7. ^ "Joel Burns MC-MPA '15 to be HGSC Annual Dinner Featured Guest".