Wayne Burkes

Wayne Oliver Burkes (December 6, 1929 – May 5, 2020) was an American politician, Baptist minister, and military officer.

Wayne Burkes
Member of the Mississippi Senate
from the 29th district
In office
January 1980 – 1989
Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
from the 31-I district
In office
January 1976 – January 1980
Personal details
Born(1929-12-26)December 26, 1929
Neshoba County, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedMay 5, 2020(2020-05-05) (aged 90)
Kosciusko, Mississippi, U.S.
Political partyRepublican Party (from 1995)
Other political
affiliations		Democratic Party (before 1995)

Early life and education

Burkes was born in Neshoba County, Mississippi near Philadelphia, Mississippi. He graduated from Mississippi College and studied at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

He was ordained a Baptist minister and served in several churches. Burkes served in the Mississippi Air National Guard and retired as a lieutenant general.

Career

Burkes served as a Democrat in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1976 to 1980 and in the Mississippi Senate from 1980 to 1989. In 1989, he was elected Highway (later renamed Transportation) Commissioner of the Central District of Mississippi.

In 1995, he switched to the Republican Party to run for reelection, becoming the first ever serious GOP candidate for Highway/Transportation Commissioner in the state and only the second ever and was reelected overwhelmingly.[1][2]

He was nominated by President Bill Clinton for a seat on the Surface Transportation Board (STB), and served from 1999 to 2002. He resigned on March 20, 2003 as vice chair of the STB.[3] Burkes ran for Mississippi State Treasurer in 2003, but lost to future Governor Tate Reeves in the Republican primary.

Later life

Burkes died at the Mississippi Veterans House in Kosciusko, Mississippi.[4][5][6][7]

References
  1. "Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi on March 1, 1995 · Page 13".
  2. "Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi on November 8, 1995 · Page 7".
  3. "Rail News - Burkes resigns as STB vice chairman. For Railroad Career Professionals". Progressive Railroading. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  4. Lt. General Wayne Burkes-obituary
  5. About STB > Past Board Members
  6. Nativism Reborn?: The Official English Language Movement and the American States
  7. Anderson, Reeves running hard for treasurer
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