Clair Burgener was born in Vernal, Utah, and grew up there and in Salt Lake City. He served in the Pacific in the Army Air Corps during World War II as a navigator. He attained second lieutenant and was awarded the Air Medal in 1945. Later, he was recalled for Air Force service during the Korean War.[1]
Burgener graduated from San Diego State College with a BA in liberal arts. He was a realtor in the early 1950s with his brother. In 1951 Burgener was on the stage of the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park, playing Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey for a 33-day run.
At a cocktail party one evening, as related by Lionel Van Deerlin, an oilman from Texas said, "I like the cut of your jib, young fella." He continued, "If you do go into politics, I'd like to help. Here's a check for five thousand dollars. Cash it whenever you decide to run." A few months later, Burgener ran for a city council vacancy, but returned the check, writing, "Thank you very much, but I feel it would be improper to accept so large an amount from a single out-of-state contributor."[citation needed]
Burgener was elected to the San Diego City Council in 1953, serving until 1957. On the city council he pushed for the development of Mission Bay Park. Burgener later recalled the office as "the job I enjoyed the least".
Burgener was then elected to the California State Assembly 1963–1967 and California State Senate, 1967–1973. Burgener later said his time in the State Capitol constituted his most productive and rewarding years. He was most proud of state legislation he pushed through in 1963 that mandated classroom training for the intellectually disabled.
Burgener was elected to five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1973 to 1983. He had a mostly conservative voting record, but often crossed party lines to work with Van Deerlin, a Democrat, to further San Diego interests.
In 1980, Ku Klux Klan leader Tom Metzger won the Democratic primary in Burgener's district, at that time the most populous Congressional district in the country. The Democrats, from Gov. Jerry Brown on down, disavowed Metzger and endorsed Burgener, clinching his election to a fifth term.[3] Burgener dug up and publicized Metzger's frequent, ill-conceived statements and won the election with 86% of the vote, breaking a 40-year-old record for votes received in a House race.[4] In 1982 he did not seek reelection and retired.
Post-political lifeEdit
Burgener remained active in civic and political affairs after his retirement. He was a Regent of the University of California during 1988–1997. After Burgener's son Rod was diagnosed as developmentally disabled, Burgener became a champion of mentally-disabled children. He did much work for, and headed various associations and committees helping intellectually disabled children, including the Clair Burgener Foundation for the Developmentally Disabled.
clair, burgener, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, 201. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Clair Burgener news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Clair Walter Burgener December 5 1921 September 9 2006 was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the U S House of Representatives from 1973 to 1983 Clair BurgenerMember of theU S House of Representativesfrom CaliforniaIn office January 3 1973 January 3 1983Preceded byNew Constituency Redistricting Succeeded byRon PackardConstituency42nd district 1973 75 43rd district 1975 83 Member of the California State Senate from the 38th districtIn office January 2 1967 January 3 1973Preceded byThomas M ReesSucceeded byJohn StullMember of the California State Assembly from the 76th districtIn office January 7 1963 January 2 1967Preceded byLeverette D HouseSucceeded byPete WilsonPersonal detailsBornClair Walter Burgener source Son John Clair Burgener 1921 12 05 December 5 1921Vernal Utah U S DiedSeptember 9 2006 2006 09 09 aged 84 Encinitas California U S Political partyRepublicanSpouseMarvia Hobusch m 1941 Children3Military serviceBranch service United States ArmyBattles warsWorld War IIAs of Jan 17 2021 Contents 1 Early life 2 Political life 3 Post political life 4 Legacy 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditClair Burgener was born in Vernal Utah and grew up there and in Salt Lake City He served in the Pacific in the Army Air Corps during World War II as a navigator He attained second lieutenant and was awarded the Air Medal in 1945 Later he was recalled for Air Force service during the Korean War 1 Burgener graduated from San Diego State College with a BA in liberal arts He was a realtor in the early 1950s with his brother In 1951 Burgener was on the stage of the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park playing Elwood P Dowd in Harvey for a 33 day run Burgener was a Latter day Saint 2 Political life EditAt a cocktail party one evening as related by Lionel Van Deerlin an oilman from Texas said I like the cut of your jib young fella He continued If you do go into politics I d like to help Here s a check for five thousand dollars Cash it whenever you decide to run A few months later Burgener ran for a city council vacancy but returned the check writing Thank you very much but I feel it would be improper to accept so large an amount from a single out of state contributor citation needed Burgener was elected to the San Diego City Council in 1953 serving until 1957 On the city council he pushed for the development of Mission Bay Park Burgener later recalled the office as the job I enjoyed the least Burgener was then elected to the California State Assembly 1963 1967 and California State Senate 1967 1973 Burgener later said his time in the State Capitol constituted his most productive and rewarding years He was most proud of state legislation he pushed through in 1963 that mandated classroom training for the intellectually disabled Burgener was elected to five terms in the U S House of Representatives from 1973 to 1983 He had a mostly conservative voting record but often crossed party lines to work with Van Deerlin a Democrat to further San Diego interests In 1980 Ku Klux Klan leader Tom Metzger won the Democratic primary in Burgener s district at that time the most populous Congressional district in the country The Democrats from Gov Jerry Brown on down disavowed Metzger and endorsed Burgener clinching his election to a fifth term 3 Burgener dug up and publicized Metzger s frequent ill conceived statements and won the election with 86 of the vote breaking a 40 year old record for votes received in a House race 4 In 1982 he did not seek reelection and retired Post political life EditBurgener remained active in civic and political affairs after his retirement He was a Regent of the University of California during 1988 1997 After Burgener s son Rod was diagnosed as developmentally disabled Burgener became a champion of mentally disabled children He did much work for and headed various associations and committees helping intellectually disabled children including the Clair Burgener Foundation for the Developmentally Disabled After his retirement Congressman Burgener lived at Rancho Santa Fe California with his wife Marvia when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer s disease Burgener died in 2006 in Encinitas California He and his wife were survived by two sons John and Greg 4 Legacy EditNamed for Burgener are the Clair Burgener Academy Oceanside California the Clair Burgener Clinical Research Diagnostic Unit University of California San Diego nbsp Biography portalReferences Edit Vassar Alexander C 2011 Legislators of California PDF Retrieved 23 November 2016 The Political Graveyard Mormon Politicians in Utah Democrats Disavow Nominee From Klan Article abstract payment or subscription required for full article The New York Times June 6 1980 a b Clair Burgener dies at 84 North County Times September 10 2006 Archived from the original on 2007 09 29 External links EditUnited States Congress Clair Burgener id B001080 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Our Campaigns Representative Clair Burgener CA profile Appearances on C SPAN Join California Clair BurgenerCalifornia AssemblyPreceded byLeverette D House California State Assemblyman 76th District1963 1967 Succeeded byPete WilsonCalifornia SenatePreceded byThomas M Rees California State Senator 38th District1967 1973 Succeeded byJohn StullU S House of RepresentativesNew district Member of the U S House of Representatives from California s 42nd congressional district1973 1975 Succeeded byLionel Van DeerlinPreceded byVictor Veysey Member of the U S House of Representatives from California s 43rd congressional district1975 1983 Succeeded byRon Packard Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Clair Burgener amp 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