Contra Costa’s Jeff Burns Runs for Bay Area Regional Vice Chair

 by Roger Riffenburgh

As he campaigns to be the next Bay Area Regional Vice Chair, Jeff Burns believes that his innovative ideas, his business experience, and his Republican political involvement make him the best choice.  He says, “I believe I combine the best mix of experience, by chairing the Contra Costa GOP, plus my involvement with the CAGOP and Republicans at the national level.”

Burns is currently the chairman of the Contra Costa Republican Party.  He has been on the county central committee since 2018 and was elected as 2nd vice chair and then 1st vice chair before becoming chairman.  In 2024 he says that he helped raise enough money to help every candidate that was running as a Republican in the county with a full texting campaign.  As a delegate to the California Republican Party, he has served on the Rules Committee and the Executive Committee.  He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2020 and 2024.

In his professional life, Jeff Burns joined Walker and Dunlop in 2009.  It is a major commercial real estate company.  He has become a senior managing director, leading efforts to finance deals involving tens of millions of dollars and apartment complexes with hundreds of units.  He has also served as state chairman of the California Mortgage Bankers Association, which has thousands of members around the state.

The duties of the Regional Vice Chair are to provide leadership and support to the region’s county committees, to build Republican strength in the region, to increase the election of Republican candidates, and to represent the region on the state party’s board of directors. The Bay Area region, according to the CAGOP bylaw, includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties.  The North Bay counties, Solano, Napa, and Sonoma, are part of the North West Region, while Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito are part of the Central Coast Region.  The election is typically on the Saturday morning of the state convention at the regional caucus.

Jeff Burns grew up in the Boston area and became interested in politics as a youngster.  He volunteered in Joe Malone’s campaign against Senator Ted Kennedy. In high school, he co-founded the Conservative Coalition.  It arranged trips to walk precincts for Jack Kemp in the New Hampshire primary in 1988.

Burns headed west for college at Oregon State.  There he played lacrosse and earned his bachelor’s degree in political science.  He subsequently worked in banking.  He came to the Bay Area to attend the University of San Francisco, where he earned his MBA in 2002. As his career progressed, he became very successful in multifamily real estate financing.

He also got more involved in his professional organization, the California Mortgage Bankers Association, serving on its board and building relationships with government officials. In that role he helped advocate for public policy to increase California’s housing supply and to protect the public.

Jeff and his wife have a teen-aged son and daughter and live in Danville.  In his leisure time Jeff enjoys spending time with his family, as well as golfing, skiing, reading, and travelling.  You can learn more about Jeff Burns’ campaign for regional vice chair on his campaign website, votejeffburns.com.