Wayne Burton - Town Council

WAYNE BURTON - Town Council
106 Madbury Road

Occupation:  Retired Community College President

Education:  AB Bowdoin College; MBA University of New Hampshire; Doctor of Education Vanderbilt University

Years as Durham Resident:  50 Years

Previous Service on Governmental/Community/Civic Boards, Commissions, Committees, or Organizations:  Over the course of my 44 years as a professional educational administrator, I served in many capacities on boards and commissions including in Durham. In the 80s I served two terms in the NH House representing this district. I returned to the NH House in 2014 serving on the House Elections Committee and was re-elected in 2016 serving on the House Education Committee.  I serve as a member of the Strafford Regional Planning Commission and am finishing my second three-year term on the Durham Town Council. As a current member of the Durham Energy Committee I worked closely with Town Administrator Selig and Energy Committee chair, Charles Forcey, in developing the second largest municipal solar project in the state which will power most of Durham’s facilities and buildings in the Oyster River School District.

In 2012 – 2014 I served on the Oyster River School District Advisory Budget Committee.

In the late 70s I was one of the founding members of the Oyster River Youth Association and served on the Durham Town Budget Committee. In the mid-80s I was an active member of Citizens for Oyster River Education, a group formed to advocate for fair teacher contracts and improved facilities. 

Nationally, I was appointed by then US Department of Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, to the Committee on Measures of Student Success required by the 2008 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to develop measures appropriate to today’s community colleges. Last fall I was appointed to the Democratic National Committee’s Veteran’s Council.

Reason for Interest in Running for Elected Office:  I enjoy very much working with my colleagues on the Council addressing the many challenges facing our town while keeping the budget causing little or no increase in the tax rate. The past year I focused primarily on the Seacoast Reliability project as proposed by Eversource trying to prevent it from harming severely our precious Great Bay as well as destroying historic artifacts. Most importantly I’ve participated in the siting process attempting to prevent serious damage to the property values of residents in its path, especially those adjacent to or on the path as proposed by Eversource.

Additional background information not included in responses above, if applicable.  My experience in Vietnam taught me to be involved in the decision-making processes that affect all of our lives. I began as a student trustee on the UNH Board of Trustees in 1971-72 and have not stopped. While commuting to my position as President of North Shore Community College in Massachusetts from Durham, I served there on the board of North Shore ARC, chairman of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, and Governor Deval Patrick’s Committee on Autism.

My wife, Betsy and I still live in the home we built on Madbury Rd. in the mid-70s raising our three children here and now have two grandsons attending the Oyster River School System. We participate in the community gardens on Wagon Hill and believe locally grown food is the key to healthy lives.