The Honorable Yvonne B. Burke
LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR, SECOND DISTRICT (1992-PRESENT)
CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
(1993-1994, 1997-1998, 2002-2003 & 2007-2008)
LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR, FOURTH DISTRICT (1979-1980)
U.S. CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE, 37th DISTRICT (1972-1978)
CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLYWOMAN (1966-1972)
Yvonne B. Burke, serving in the final year of her fourth term on the Los Angeles County Board Supervisors will serve as the 2007-2008 Chair of the Board. While she has served the Second Supervisorial District for the last 15 years, she will be remembered in history as a dedicated public servant who amassed numerous “firsts” and innumerable awards, in addition to inspiring women and minorities to pursue interests in public service.
As a product of the Los Angeles Unified School District, Burke attended Manual Arts High School, where she developed her interest in public speaking by joining the oratory society and participating in citywide competitions. Her numerous extracurricular activities helped to earn her scholarships from the University of California, Berkeley, and later, the University of California, Los Angeles.
She received her J.D. from the University of Southern California School of Law in 1956, before entering private practice. She received her legal credentials at a time when it was difficult for women, particularly African-Americans, to practice law. During this era, many private law firms showed no interest in hiring women. Therefore, she opened her own law office at 23rd Street and Western Avenue, specializing in civil rights and laws regarding housing, immigration, eminent domain, and the licensing of board and care homes.
She remained active in the Civil Rights Movement with memberships to various local and national organizations, subsequently landing a staff attorney position on the McCone Commission, which investigated the causes of the 1965 Watts Riots. She became a spokesperson for the underrepresented and through a grassroots campaign, won her first political office in 1966 as a California State Assemblywoman, a position she held for the next six years.
She became the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress, in 1972, representing California’s 37th District. She was selected to serve as vice chair of the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami and later on the House Select Committee on Assassinations. In 1973, she became the first member of Congress to give birth while in office. She did not seek re-election to Congress in 1978, instead she ran for Attorney General of California, winning the Democratic nomination over Los Angeles City Attorney Burt Pines, before being defeated in the general election by Republican George Deukmejian.
In 1984, she was selected to serve as vice chairman of the U.S. Olympics Organizing Committee, before becoming the first African-American elected to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, in 1992.
As a Los Angeles County Supervisor, she represents nearly 2.5 million residents in the nation’s largest county. Her efforts have focused on improving the lives of children, encouraging economic development and improving transportation throughout Los Angeles.
Additional areas of responsibility have included the Department of Affirmative Action Compliance, Community Development Commission, Department of Human Resources, Museum of Natural History, Department of Parks and Recreation, the County Public Library and the Department of Public Social Services. She has also taken the lead in moving to establish a County Archives system.
Supervisor Burke is married to Los Angeles businessman, William A. Burke, and has a daughter, Autumn and a step-daughter, Christine.
Yvonne B. Burke Career Highlights:
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Inspirational in establishing the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services “Family to Family” program, which advocates the placement of foster children in homes near their original communities.
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Promoted the establishment of businesses in areas of the County that have been underserved, providing on-going services to small businesses and establishing the County’s website that lists available contracts for small businesses.
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Served on boards of numerous prestigious organizations and corporations, including Nestle.
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Selected one of Time Magazine’s “America's 200 Future Leaders,” the Los Angeles Times’ “Woman of the Year” and UCLA’s “Alumni of the Year” in 1996.
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Spearheaded an effort in the County that resulted in a voluntary program for restaurants to eliminate trans fat.
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Encouraged private businesses and organizations to make computer laboratories available in areas such as public housing, and encouraged constituents to make use of computer research facilities in the County library system.
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Lead on many environmental issues, including joining the City of San Francisco, calling on residents to turn of lights for an hour to save energy; urged for the use of paper, rather than plastic bags; and pushed for the observance of America Recycle Day in L.A. County.
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Implemented the La Brea Green Belt as a major transportation artery in the Second District, as well as providing fire, flood and landslide abatement.
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Kenneth Hahn Park expansion to include Little League baseball, golf and other amenities, with large roadside tracts of La Cienega Boulevard slated for development once oil drilling ceases.
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As a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board, she was instrumental in the establishment of a multi-modal public transportation system and continues to push for development of the Crenshaw Corridor and for a light and heavy rail system.
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Served as past president and currently a board member of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), where her major regional concerns include the establishment of a multi-modal public transportation system for the Los Angeles area.
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Establish the Second District Education and Policy Foundation, which awards scholarships to deserving local students.
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Became the first African American woman admitted to USC's law school since 1928.
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Currently chairs the L.A. County Children’s Planning Council, regarded as the most influential cross-system vehicle advocating reform of children's service systems in a major US metropolitan area.
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