Grant Burgoyne

Grant T. Burgoyne was born August 9, 1953 in Ketchikan, Alaska. He is a Boise, Idaho attorney and a Democratic State Senator representing Idaho's District 16.

Personal

Burgoyne’s father, Richard Burgoyne, and his mother, Florence Burgoyne (nee King), are deceased. Burgoyne’s father was a native of Des Moines, Iowa and a United States Coast Guard officer. His mother was a native of Pocatello, Idaho and a high school math teacher. Burgoyne grew up primarily in the San Francisco suburb of Daly City, California, and in Honolulu, Hawaii. Burgoyne is an only child. His maternal grandfather, Raymond King (deceased), was a Union Pacific Railroad engineer in Pocatello and Idaho Falls, Idaho, and his maternal grandmother Bertha King (nee Olson; deceased) was a school teacher before turning her attention to raising her three children. Burgoyne’s maternal great grandparents, Nels and Johanna Olson homesteaded in the New Sweden, Idaho area in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

In 1978, Burgoyne married Boise native Christy DeMeyer. They have been married for 42 years. They have two daughters and three grandchildren. Christy is a teacher and school administrator.

Education

Burgoyne graduated from Westmoor High School in Daly City, California in 1971, and was student body president. He earned his bachelor's degree in history at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho in 1975, and was a student senator. Burgoyne earned his law degree at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas in 1988.

Professional

Upon graduation from college, Burgoyne accepted a position with then Idaho Secretary of State Pete T. Cenarrusa. Burgoyne held two other positions of increasing responsibility with the State of Idaho before attending, and graduating from, law school. He then entered private practice in Boise, eventually joining in the formation of the Boise law firm of Mauk & Burgoyne in 1995. He was the firm’s managing partner from 1997 through 2013. His legal practice focused on civil litigation, employment and labor law, civil rights, personal injury and commercial law. Burgoyne and his firm were awarded Martindale-Hubbel's prestigious "AV" peer rating, signifying preeminent levels of professionalism and ethical standards in the legal profession. He was also recognized as one Idaho’s top lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Association in 2012. Burgoyne left the firm in 2015 to establish a mediation and arbitration legal practice and focus more attention on his work as an Idaho Legislator. He accepted a part-time lecturer position at the University of Idaho College of Law (Boise Campus) commencing with the Spring semester of 2020

Burgoyne is a member of the Idaho Bar Association (chairing the Employment and Labor Law Section 1997-1998), the Federal Bar Association and the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association. Burgoyne is a co-author of the Idaho Employment Policies Handbook (1998; rev. eds. 2001, 2012), has authored numerous legal articles and has lectured widely. He also served as an adjunct professor of human resources law at Boise State University from 2002-2007.

Idaho Democratic Party Work

Burgoyne served as a Democratic precinct captain in the early 1970s, worked on two gubernatorial campaigns for former Idaho Governor Cecil D. Andrus, was the Democratic Legislative District 15 Chair in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was the Ada County Democratic Party Chair in the early 1990s, was the State Democratic Platform Chair in 1992, and represented Idaho Democrats on the Democratic National Committee from 2004 to 2008.

Legislative Service

In the Idaho Legislature, Burgoyne represents District 16 which consists of Garden City and parts of Boise. He was first elected to the Idaho House of Representatives in the November 2008 General Election, and was re-elected in 2010 and 2012. Following the 2012 General Election, he was elected the Assistant Minority Leader by the House Democrats. He was elected to the Idaho Senate in the 2014 General Election, and was then elected the Senate Minority Caucus Chair by the Senate Democrats. He was subsequently re-elected to the Idaho Senate in 2016. He serves on the following:

• The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee (2015 to present);
• The Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee (2015 to present);
• The Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee (2017 to present);
• The Legislative Council (2015 to present);
• The Idaho Criminal Justice Commission (2011 to present); and
• The Idaho Supreme Court’s Guardianship and Conservatorship Committee

Burgoyne’s legislative career has focused on economic growth, education, the environment, human rights, gender equity, public lands, tax reform and the social safety net.

Elections