| A passionate advocate for his community, Michael Burton had a different path to elected office. Michael was born and raised in Affton, right off Heege Rd. At age 15, his first job was a dishwasher at Happy Joes. Michael attended the Affton School District until his Junior year of high school when he was recruited to Christian Brother College for theater arts. Michael grew up performing in the St. Louis area and performed on stages like The Muny, The Fox Theater and was blessed to have also performed in the White House. While attending Lindenwood University Michael was cast in a Broadway show and moved to NYC to pursue his dream.
In 2001, Michael came back to St. Louis and became a teacher where he was nominated for COCA's wall of fame. Along the way he served in soup kitchens and shelters, feeding and clothing the less fortunate. He has always felt a sense of service for his community.
When Michael found out there was a possibility of a housing development replacing Tower Tee in closed door dealings, he took action. Michael began to mobilize the community, speak to the St. Louis County Council, made yard signs and began knocking on doors. He refused to accept it was a done deal. Michael organized town halls with elected officials and kept up this hard work for 18 months. His efforts paid off and in May of 2019, Tower Tee was saved and is coming back.
Fighting Corruption- In June of 2018, Michael took on then County Executive Steve Stenger who was involved in pay to play politics and filed a lawsuit against Stenger along side six Council members. Michael was the only unelected official to be a part of this lawsuit to allow the people vote on three charter amendments. He won. Michael will continue to take on corruption when he sees it whether it's a Republican or a Democrat.
Crime Prevention- Michael worked closely with the St. Louis County police department and in 2019, he created the Affton Ring Doorbell Community Program to give residents a discount for home security systems.
Volunteering- Michael is also a frequent volunteer at the Affton Christian Food Pantry and encourages everyone to donate and give back to this community. |