Interview with Forrest Burson, June 16, 2010

Bill Burson served as an aide to Senator Herman Talmadge and later to Governor Carl Sanders. In 1967, the newly elected governor, Lester Maddox, appointed Burson Director of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services. Over the next three years Burson fought a “War on Hunger” attempting to create food stamps programs across Georgia. Burson was elected State Treasurer in 1970 and campaigned for the U.S. Senate in 1972. After losing the senatorial campaign, he worked as a lobbyist for business interests in the Southeast. In 1975, he became Zell Miller’s administrative and special assistant, a position he held until his retirement in 1991. Forrest Burson, son of Bill Burson, discusses his father's work in journalism, as a public servant, and as an important figure in the Miller administration.

2010-06-16

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