With a heavy heart, we share the news of our beloved Senator John Burton’s passing on September 7, 2025.
Much has and will be said of Senator Burton’s remarkable service and unparalleled leadership over the course of his nearly six decades in office. As Deputy Attorney and State Assemblyman, as a four-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and as California State Senator and President Pro Tempore, he brought fierce conviction, deep dedication, and a righteous indignation to the fight for the rights and well-being of hardworking people and those who experienced poverty, homelessness, or incarceration.
Senator Burton stood up for the voiceless, the underdog. He possessed a far too rare desire and ability to find common ground across ideological differences.
And yet, Senator Burton’s impact grew even more after he retired from politics in 2004 and launched John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY). Raised in middle-class San Francisco, John observed the stark contrast between the implicit family support he and his friends relied on as young adults and what little was available to their peers in foster care once they turned 18 and aged out of the system.
John lent his clear-eyed, compassionate outrage to the cause from the outset. “Emancipated from what? And into what?” he asked. “Into not being able to have a roof over their heads? Into being frozen out of a chance at higher education? Into unemployment? Into a life on the welfare rolls? Into homelessness? Into jail?”
With Senator Burton’s vision and influence, along with a tireless staff and board of directors, JBAY has successfully advocated for 55 legislative reforms resulting in over $3.6 billion in new state investments for youth who have been in foster care or homeless. Notable wins include the expansion of foster care from age 18 to 21; safe, affordable housing and support services for over 22,000 youth; financial aid for a record number of foster youth to attend college with wraparound support; and the nation’s first-ever foster youth tax credit.
No longer is being in foster care the pipeline to unemployment or incarceration Senator Burton lamented. In fact, because of JBAY, foster care in California can be a springboard into higher education and economic security. Almost 70% of California foster youth now graduate high school (double the rate in New York, for example), and college enrollment is up 42% over the past decade. Amid an overall increase in statewide homelessness, youth homelessness has decreased by nearly a quarter.
For Senator Burton, JBAY became family. He embraced our team and especially our youth advocates wholeheartedly, always eager to get to know them and spend quality time together. He served as board chair, and his daughter, Kimiko Burton, has guided the organization as a board member since 2016.
At the core of JBAY is what we call the “John Burton Way.” The John Burton Way means never disparaging intentions and understanding that two intelligent people can truly disagree. It means not falling in love with your own idea and proactively seeking and learning from dissent. Being rigorous with data. Remembering that principles are important, but not at the cost of progress. It’s a willingness to compromise and live to fight another day, and a willingness to keep on fighting—with absolute painstaking persistence.
From expanding support for foster youth to earlier in their K-12 years to opening up new opportunities for former foster youth to raise their voices and shape public policy in the halls of the state legislature, John Burton Advocates for Youth will continue to honor and uphold the legacy of our extraordinary, once-in-a-generation leader exactly as he would wish—by fighting for a more just world each and every day, with absolute painstaking persistence.
We thank you for being on this journey with us.