Kenneth Charles Burt, who fought to make California more ‘governable,’ dies at age 62
Kenneth Charles Burt, a longtime Sacramento advocate and public servant who spent decades working to improve public education, died June 15 after battling Parkinson’s disease and ALS. He was 62.
“He was a quiet and behind-the-scenes organizer who had an enormous impact on politics in California, in the state capital and beyond,” said Daniel Zingale, who had been friends with Burt ever since they attended high school together.
Burt was the son of two teachers, and his devotion to education reflected in his work. He was the first political director for the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), representing more than 100,000 educators. He served in the position, which was created specifically for him, for 21 years.
During that time, Burt advocated for education workers and their families, helping the CFT secure big wins like increased funding for public education and knocking down anti-union measures.
Burt also led the CFT’s Yes on Proposition 25 campaign. According to his family, Burt’s proudest achievement was his role in championing that initiative.
Each summer, stalled negotiations in the Legislature put schools and many others into limbo as they awaited the budget to plan for the upcoming year. Pundits began to call California “ungovernable.”
Proposition 25 lowered the approval threshold for the annual state budget from a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to a simple majority.
“He was the mastermind behind securing a simple majority vote budget for California, which is an absolute game changer,” Zingale said. “And he did that against the odds.”
In November 2010, Californians voted to pass the proposition. Budget delays disappeared, over the objections of Republican leaders, who said the move effectively eliminated their minority party’s voice in the process.
Burt was born and raised in Sacramento, and returned there after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in political science and from Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
“His roots are very deep here,” said Sonia Sotelo Burt, his wife of 34 years. The two met as students at Berkeley and later had two children, Stephen and Katherine.
It was during Burt’s upbringing in the 1970s, during the height of the farmworkers movement, that he first developed a deep interest in labor rights and Latino politics. At El Camino High School in Sacramento, he engaged in teachers’ strikes and United Farm Workers boycotts and strikes.
“He was a Catholic who believed devoutly in the rights of all human beings and was deeply troubled by the injustice visited on Latino people in California when we were coming of age,” Zingale said. “Before the term ally was popularized, he really was a model for what being a good ally should be to the Latino community.”
Burt published a number of academic papers about Latino politics and labor unions and essays that appear in anthologies used in college classrooms. He wrote a book titled “The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics” about Latino activists and struggles for political power.
Burt’s family describe him as generous, passionate about his work and a great mentor to many people. He was a huge lover of books and would drag his wife to history museums whenever they traveled together, but he also had an affinity for collecting buttons and in his last year, for gardening.
And according to Zingale, Burt had not let his dual diagnosis defeat his humor.
“Even when he lost the ability to speak, he still managed to find ways to communicate his humor and optimism and really dedication to a more purposeful life and a better state of California,” Zingale said.
A funeral service is scheduled for Tuesday, June 29, 10:30 a.m. at Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 5751 Locust Ave, Carmichael. A procession and graveside service will follow.
This story was originally published June 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.