Rob Burton IV
- This article is about the neighborhood officer. For others with similar names, see Rob Burton (disambiguation)
James Robert Burton, IV (born March 30, 1989 in New York City) is secretary of the Glen Iris Neighborhood Association and vice-president of the Southside Community Advisory Committee. He is also the co-Executive Director of SWEET Alabama, and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Birmingham Land Bank Authority.
Burton is the son of investment banker J. Robert Burton III of Auburn, Lee County, and realtor Barbara Burton, formerly Barbara Blount Lovelace, of Brewton, Escambia County. He has two sisters, and lives with his partner in Glen Iris.
Community Work
In 2012 he became a charter member of the Birmingham Young Professional Kiwanis Club, and served as its liaison to the Kiwanis Family, and as assistant administrator of Kiwanis Kids for the Alabama District of Kiwanis International.
He served as executive director of the Magic City Agriculture Project from 2013 to 2017, supporting Smithfield Community residents in launching the Dynamite Hill-Smithfield Community Land Trust. He was elected to serve on the executive committee of the Alabama Sierra Club and co-founded and co-chaired the Alabama Chapter's "Beyond Coal Committee". In 2017 Burton co-founded the non-profit SWEET Alabama (Sustainable Water, Energy, and Economic Transition in Alabama), where he is employed as the co-executive director, and also co-founded the Friends of Dynamite Hill community group.
In 2020 Burton was named co-chair of Our Revolution - Birmingham, and co-founded People's Budget Birmingham with eight Birmingham based organizations.
He is also a regular volunteer with Alabama Adelante Worker Center, the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ), and Black Warrior Riverkeeper.
Public Office
Burton served on incoming Mayor Randall Woodfin's Social Justice Transition Team in 2018, where he helped lead the Environmental Justice and Sustainability Committee. In August 2018 he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Birmingham Land Bank Authority by the Birmingham City Council, where he served as board secretary, chair of the Law and Legislation Committee, and chair of the Special Projects Committee. His term on the Birmingham Land Bank Authority Board of Directors ended in January 2022.
Burton was elected secretary of the Glen Iris Neighborhood Association in 2018 and 2021, a role he currently holds, and serves as the vice president for the Southside Community Advisory Committee. On September 6th, 2022 he filed to run as president of the Glen Iris Neighborhood Association during the October 18, 2022 Birmingham Neighborhood Elections.
Political Campaigns
Burton has volunteered for numerous political campaigns, including Quang Do for the Alabama State House of Representatives, and Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders for U.S. President, Yank Lovelace for Mayor of Brewton, Alabama, and Paul Rand and Tiara Hudson's campaign for Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge.
In the 2021 Birmingham municipal election he managed Celida Soto's campaign for Birmingham City Council District 8.
In August 2022 he was elected as an at-large member of the Alabama State Democratic Executive Committee, where he now serves on the Youth Caucus. He also serves as a member of the Youth and Disability Caucuses of the Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee.
References
- West, Ty (August 23, 2018) "Two appointed to Birmingham Land Bank Authority"" Birmingham Business Journal
- Prickett, Sam (October 2, 2018) "Birmingham Council Appoints 2 to Land Bank Authority Board, Pushes It to Become Self-Sustaining" Birmingham Watch
- (February 25, 2020) "Acquiring Land via Birmingham Land Bank with J. Robert Burton" Communal Expression
- (2022) Community Resource Services, 2022 Neighborhood Officer Election website