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Clair Burgener
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia
In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	New Constituency (Redistricting)
Succeeded by	Ron Packard
Constituency	42nd district(1973–75) 43rd district(1975–83)
Member of theCalifornia State Senate from the38th district
In office January 2, 1967 – January 3, 1973
Preceded by	Thomas M. Rees
Succeeded by	John Stull
Member of theCalifornia State Assembly from the76th district
In office January 7, 1963 – January 2, 1967
Preceded by	Leverette D. House
Succeeded by	Pete Wilson
Personal details
Born	Clair Walter Burgener (1921-12-05)December 5, 1921 Vernal,Utah, U.S.
Died	September 9, 2006(2006-09-09) (aged 84) Encinitas,California, U.S.
Party	Republican
Spouse	Marvia Hobusch (m. 1941)
Children	3
Education	San Diego State College
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Battles/wars	World War II

Clair Walter Burgener (December 5, 1921 – September 9, 2006) was an AmericanWorld War II veteran and politician who served as aRepublican member of theU.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1983.

Clair Burgener was born inVernal, Utah, and grew up there and inSalt Lake City.

He served in the Pacific in theArmy Air Corps duringWorld War II as a navigator. He attained second lieutenant and was awarded theAir Medal in 1945. Later, he was recalled for Air Force service during theKorean War.^[1]

Burgener graduated fromSan Diego State College with a BA in liberal arts. He was a realtor in the early 1950s with his brother. In 1951 Burgener was on the stage of theOld Globe Theatre inBalboa Park, playing Elwood P. Dowd inHarvey for a 33-day run.

Burgener was a Latter-day Saint.^[2]

At a cocktail party one evening, as related byLionel Van Deerlin, an oilman from Texas said, "I like the cut of your jib, young fella." He continued, "If you do go into politics, I'd like to help. Here's a check for five thousand dollars. Cash it whenever you decide to run." A few months later, Burgener ran for a city council vacancy, but returned the check, writing, "Thank you very much, but I feel it would be improper to accept so large an amount from a single out-of-state contributor."^{[citation needed]}

Burgener was elected to theSan Diego City Council in 1953, serving until 1957. On the city council he pushed for the development of Mission Bay Park. Burgener later recalled the office as "the job I enjoyed the least".

Burgener was then elected to theCalifornia State Assembly 1963–1967 andCalifornia State Senate, 1967–1973. Burgener later said his time in the State Capitol constituted his most productive and rewarding years. He was most proud of state legislation he pushed through in 1963 that mandated classroom training for theintellectually disabled.

Burgener was elected to five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1973 to 1983. He had a mostly conservative voting record, but often crossed party lines to work with Van Deerlin, aDemocrat, to further San Diego interests.

In 1980,Ku Klux Klan leaderTom Metzger won the Democratic primary in Burgener's district, at that time the most populous Congressional district in the country. The Democrats, from Gov.Jerry Brown on down, disavowed Metzger and endorsed Burgener, clinching his election to a fifth term.^[3] Burgener dug up and publicized Metzger's frequent, ill-conceived statements and won the election with 86% of the vote, breaking a 40-year-old record for votes received in a House race.^[4] In 1982 he did not seek reelection and retired.

Burgener remained active in civic and political affairs after his retirement. He was aRegent of the University of California from 1988 to 1997. After Burgener's son Rod was diagnosed asdevelopmentally disabled, Burgener became a champion of mentally-disabled children. He did much work for the cause, leading various associations and committees helping intellectually disabled children, including the Clair Burgener Foundation for the Developmentally Disabled.

After his retirement, Congressman Burgener lived atRancho Santa Fe, California, with his wife Marvia when he was diagnosed withAlzheimer's disease. Burgener died in 2006 inEncinitas, California. He and his wife were survived by two sons, John and Greg.^[4]

Named for Burgener are the Clair Burgener Academy,Oceanside, California, the Clair Burgener Clinical Research Diagnostic Unit,University of California, San Diego.

• United States Congress."Clair Burgener (id: B001080)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Our Campaigns – Representative Clair Burgener (CA) profile
• Appearances onC-SPAN
• Join California Clair Burgener

• 1921 births
• 2006 deaths
• Latter Day Saints from Utah
• Republican Party California state senators
• Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California
• Republican Party members of the California State Assembly
• Republican Party United States representatives from California
• Military personnel from Utah
• People from Vernal, Utah
• Politicians from San Diego
• United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War
• United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
• United States Army Air Forces officers
• United States Air Force officers
• Recipients of the Air Medal
• University of California regents
• Latter Day Saints from California
• Military personnel from San Diego
• 20th-century American academics
• 20th-century members of the California State Legislature
• 20th-century United States representatives

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