Timothy Burns (Louisiana politician)
Encyclopedia
- For the RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
state representativeLouisiana State LegislatureThe Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from Bossier ParishBossier Parish, LouisianaBossier Parish is named for Pierre Bossier, a 19th-century Louisiana state senator and U.S. representative from Natchitoches Parish.Bossier Parish was spared fighting on its soil during the American Civil War...
, see Henry BurnsHenry BurnsHenry Lee Burns is a freshman Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 9 in Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana. He also owns and operates the Wooden Spoon bakery in Bossier City and is a thoroughbred owner and breeder...
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Timothy G. Burns (born 1957), also known as Tim Burns, is a tax attorney from Mandeville
Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,421 in 2008. Mandeville is located on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interstate 12. It is across the lake from the city of New Orleans and its southshore suburbs...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who is a two-term Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from District 89 in St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The parish seat is Covington....
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Political web sties do not indicate Burns's place of birth. He holds three degrees from Roman Catholic-affiliated Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
: Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1979, Master of Business Administration in 1980, and Juris Doctor in 1983.
Burns nearly won outright the five-candidate, all-Republican nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 4, 2003. He led with 6,152 votes (46.7 percent). Susan Bonnett, with 3,534 votres (26.8 percent) ran second. Bonnett withdrew from the pending general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, and Burns won the seat outright. Burns was reelected without opposition in 2007.
After the election of Republican Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
as governor in 2007, Burns soon entered the special election called to fill Jindal's term in Louisiana's 1st congressional district
Louisiana's 1st congressional district
Louisiana's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district comprises mostly land on the North Shore and South Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, although it also contains areas west of Lake Pontchartrain. The district includes some or all of the...
. His principal rival was newly-elected State Senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
Steve Scalise
Steve Scalise
Stephen Joseph "Steve" Scalise is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2008. He is a member of the Republican Party...
of Jefferson
Jefferson, Louisiana
Jefferson is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, on the East Bank of the Mississippi River. Jefferson is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 11,843 at the 2000 census...
. Burns accused Scalise of having used push poll
Push poll
A push poll is a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll. In a push poll, large numbers of respondents are contacted, and little or no effort is made to collect and analyze...
ing to mislead voters in their congressional race. Under this system, a campaign contacts voters by telephone and asks probing questions which leave a negative impression of an opposing candidate. Scalise defended his poll from criticism by Burns: "We were running a public opinion survey this week conducted by the largest Republican polling firm in the country, Public Opinion Strategies. . . . conducted with a sample of 300 people, and it shows Scalise at 57 percent, Burns at 26 percent and undecided at 17 percent. The margin of error is 5.6 percent. We ran a fact-based public opinion survey, not a push poll."
In the March 8, 2008, Republican primary, which was a closed election restricted to registered Republicans, Scalise polled 16,799 votes (48 percent). Burns received 9,631 votes (28 percent), and two other candidates, Ben Morris and David Simpson, shared some 24 percent of the ballots cast. In the runoff election on April 5, Scalise easily prevailed, 19,338 (58 percent) to Burns's 13,958 (41.9 percent).
Burns serves on these House committees: (1) Health and Welfare, (2) Judiciary, and (3) Transportation, Highways, and Public Works.
In 2010, Burns was rated in his legislative voting record 100 percent by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, known by the acronym LABI, is the largest and most successful business lobbying group in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded in Baton Rouge in 1976, when Louisiana adopted a new right-to-work law during the administration of Democratic...
and 89 percent from the Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum is a social conservative non-profit advocacy group based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The organization supports Louisiana's covenant marriage law and opposes abortion and same-sex marriage...
. In 2009, he was rated 100 percent by the Louisiana Right to Life
Right to life
Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...
Federation
Burns won his third and final term in the state House in the primary election held on October 22, 2011. He received 6,156 votes (69.1 percent) to 2,752 (30.9 percent) for his intraparty opponent, Pat Phillips.