John Burris (politician)

For the attorney, see John Burris.

John Burris
State Representative John Burris, August 6, 2012[1]
Minority Leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives
In office
January 10, 2011 – January 2013
Preceded byBryan King
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
from the 85th district
In office
January 12, 2009 – December 31, 2012
Preceded byJames Norton
Succeeded byDavid Whitaker
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
from the 98th district
In office
January 2013 – January 2015
Preceded byDonna Hutchinson
Succeeded byRon McNair
Personal details
BornSeptember 27, 1985
Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
Political partyRepublican
Residence(s)Harrison, Arkansas
Alma materBergman High School
Arkansas Tech University
ProfessionPartner and lobbyist at Capitol Advisor Group

John Burris (born September 27, 1985)[2] is a Republican former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives.[3][4][5][6] where he served three two-year terms, the maximum allowed by Arkansas term limit laws at the time.

Burris was elected to represent District 85, which then covered the city of Harrison and part of Boone County, in 2008, defeating opponent Bill Witty and becoming, at 23, the youngest person then serving in the Arkansas House.[7] In the 2010 election, Representative Burris was unopposed. Redistricting placed Burris's home in District 98, where, in the 2012 election, he succeeded incumbent Republican Donna Hutchinson, who was term-limited. Burris was unopposed in the primary and general election.[8]

Elected as House Minority Leader in 2010,[9][10] Burris was the youngest minority leader, at age 25, in the history of the state, and served in that capacity during the 2011 Regular Session and 2012 Fiscal Session. As minority leader, Burris led efforts to recruit and elect Republican candidates, with the party winning a one-vote majority in the November 2012 election.[11] Burris was the Arkansas House Public Health, Welfare, and Labor Committee chairman from 2013 to 2014.[12]

In 2014, he was a candidate for the Arkansas State Senate, losing to fellow Republican Scott Flippo in a runoff primary election[8][13] in a race where there was no Democratic contender,[14] and, later that year, he received a public letter of caution from the state Ethics Commission related to omitting some information on financial disclosure reports.[15] After losing to Flippo, Burris accepted a private-sector job as a consultant on health policy issues. He had been one of the principal architects of Medicaid expansion in Arkansas [16][17]

Burris is a partner and lobbyist[18][19] at Capitol Advisors Group,[20] a Little Rock-based government relations, public affairs, and issue management firm.[21][22]

Burris was political director for Tom Cotton's 2012 Congressional and 2014 U.S. Senate races.[22][23][24]

Burris graduated from Arkansas Tech University (ATU) in Russellville with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 2008. While in high school and at ATU, he was a manager at Wendy's[22][25] and had worked unloading freight at Home Depot and in a real estate company.[26] From 2014 to 2016, Burris contributed articles to Talk Business & Politics, a news website that covers business, politics, and culture across all Arkansas regions.[27][28]

Burris is married to Katherine Vasilis, a senior VP and senior account supervisor at CJRW, a Little Rock advertising agency.[29]

  1. ^ "Young State Legislators' Impact on Politics". C-SPAN. McCormic Place West Convention Center, Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  2. ^ Burris, John (April 20, 2015). "John Burris: The 'Great And Good' John Paul Hammerschmidt". Talk Business & Politics. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "Entrepreneur - Start, run and grow your business". Entrepreneur. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  4. ^ "Flippo beats Burris in Arkansas state Senate race". KATV. June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  5. ^ "Arkansas Primary Election Results, May 20, 2014". KATV. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  6. ^ Andrew DeMillo (June 8, 2014). "State Senate race focuses on Medicaid expansion". Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on June 21, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  7. ^ "John Burris". Arkansas Business. Little Rock, Arkansas: Arkansas Business Publishing Group. November 9, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "John Burris". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  9. ^ Linstock, Gavin (November 3, 2010). "Arkansas GOP introduces new constitutional officers". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. WEHCO Media.
  10. ^ "GOP, Dems adjust to new Arkansas politics". The Daily World. No. 134, 139th year. Helena, Arkansas. AP. November 12, 2010. p. 4. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  11. ^ "Burris' latest move". Arkansas Times. Little Rock, Arkansas: Alan Leveritt. November 21, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  12. ^ "John Burris". Capitol Advisors Group. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  13. ^ Wickline, Michael R. (May 23, 2014). "Candidate in runoff faces ethics complaint". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. WEHCO Media. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  14. ^ Dooley, Josh (June 11, 2014). "Flippo wins nailbiter—Political newcomer beats Rep. John Burris for seat". Baxter Bulletin. No. 153 Vol 113. Mountain Home, Arkansas: Gannett. p. 1. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  15. ^ Wickline, Michael R. (August 29, 2014). "Lawmaker chastised on ethics violation—Burris to get letter of caution for failure to disclose fully on personal finances". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "Arkansas Legislature: State Lawmaker Takes Consulting Job". Fort Smith Times Record. Fort Smith, Arkansas: Gannett. November 13, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  17. ^ Wickline, Michael R. (June 11, 2014). "Senate runoff close; Flippo defeats Burris". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. WEHCO Media. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  18. ^ Farley, Neal (July 7, 2023). "Legislative committee calls for investigation into Pope County casino petition campaign". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Little Rock, Arkansas: WEHCO Media. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  19. ^ Brock, Roby (May 10, 2018). "Partners hope to expand Northwest Arkansas-state Capitol corridor". Talk Business & Politics. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  20. ^ "Meet Our Principals". Capitol Advisors Group. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  21. ^ Brock, Roby (November 13, 2014). "Rep. John Burris To Join Capitol Advisors Group As Senior Advisor". Talk Business & Politics.
  22. ^ a b c "John Burris". Linkedin. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  23. ^ Brantley, Max (November 13, 2014). "John Burris new career: Political consultant. On health care issues". Arkansas Times. Little Rock, Arkansas. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  24. ^ Brantley, Max (June 30, 2013). "Open line: John Burris gets a job — working for Tom Cotton". Arkansas Times. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  25. ^ Burris, John (December 10, 2014). "John Burris: Politics From The Inside Out". Talk Business & Politics. Lowell, Arkansas. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  26. ^ Price, Joseph (June 3, 2014). "Private option works, says John Burris". Baxter Bulletion. No. 146 Vol 113. Mountain Home, Arkansas: Gannett. p. A1, A8. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  27. ^ "Author: John Burris". Talk Business & Politics. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  28. ^ Brantley, Max (October 15, 2015). "Another payday for a legislative 'consultant'; they are 'journalists' too". Arkansas Times. Little Rock, Arkansas: Alan Leveritt. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  29. ^ "Katherine Vasilos". CJRW. Retrieved July 2, 2024.