Burson seeking at-large re-election

I. Jackson (Jack) Burson, Jr. has announced his candidacy for re-election as alderman at-large for Eunice in the Oct. 2 primary election.
Burson is married to Gwen Martel Brown. He and his late wife, Myra Bordelon Burson, who was principal at St. Edmund’s Elementary School, had three children: Isaac J. (Zac) Burson, III, who is Transition and Mentoring Coordinator for Special Education for Bossier Parish; Myra M. (Cissy) Burson, a teacher at International School of Louisiana in New Orleans; and Benjamin M. Burson, a lawyer in Eunice.
Gwen Martel Burson and her late husband Lylon Bergeron had two children, Karen Johnson of Eunice and Gary Bergeron of Crowley.
Burson was educated at Basile High, UL Lafayette (B.A. degree in Political Science), Georgetown University Graduate School, Washington, D.C. (Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in American Government); and Tulane University Law School.
He has practiced law for 49 years, and served for 26 years as assistant district attorney. In that capacity, Burson did criminal
prosecutions and served as legal counsel to the St. Landry Parish School Board and Police Jury.
Burson is currently legal advisor to St. Landry Parish Fire District One (Krotz Springs). He was a member of the Board of Governors of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association from 1987-1989.
He has been the elected alderman at-large since 1995. Other elected offices Burson has held include member of the St. Landry Parish School Board and House Dist. 41 delegate to the Constitutional Convention which wrote the current Louisiana State Constitution.
While serving as alderman at-large, Burson has served as Mayor Pro-tempore several times. Mayor Bob Morris appointed him and Mayor Claud Moody, Jr. renewed that appointment as Mayor’s representative on the Opelousas-Eunice Library Board.
Burson was chairman of the St. Landry Parish Home Rule Charter Commission of 2001, which wrote the parish charter adopted by voters in 2002.
He was a night class instructor in American Government, Louisiana Government and Business Law at LSU Eunice from 1990 to 1999.
His past civic activities included 10 years as a youth baseball coach, charter membership in the Eunice High Coaches Club and two terms as president of the St. Edmund’s Booster Club. During the past year he has served on the City-Wide MLK Celebration Committee planning the 2015 celebration and funding scholarships to be awarded to a graduate of each of our two community high schools.
Burson is a member of St. Anthony Catholic Church where he has served in the past as Lector, Minister of Communion and Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus.