Background
Burgess was born in Zephyrhills in 1986 and attended the University of South Florida.
president Republican politician
Burgess was born in Zephyrhills in 1986 and attended the University of South Florida.
In 2008, after he graduated with a degree in political science, he resigned from the City Council to attend the Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law in Orlando, graduating with his Juris Doctor in 2011.
While a college student, he was elected to the Zephyrhills City Council in 2005, defeating Celia Graham with 60% of the vote. Burgess was re-elected in 2007, defeating Richard Kaeberlein with 82% of the vote, and he served as President of the City Council. Upon graduation, he joined the Judge Advocate General"s Corps as a first lieutenant and began practicing with Johnson, Auvil, Pratico & Chane Pennsylvania. He did not run for re-election in 2014.
In 2014, incumbent State Representative Will Weatherford was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, so Burgess ran to succeed him.
During the campaign, the Tampa Bay Times endorsed Ledbetter over him, criticizing Burgess for not having a "similar grasp of state issues" as Ledbetter and for having uninformed priorities.
After the Mayor of Zephyrhills resigned after he faced impeachment proceedings over allegations of sexual harassment, Burgess ran in a special election to succeed him, and won, serving out the final year of the previous mayor"s term. He won the Republican primary unopposed, and advanced to the general election, where he faced retired social studies teacher Beverly Ledbetter. However, the contest between Burgess and Ledbetter was not close, and Burgess won his first term in a landslide, receiving 60% of the vote.
