Buron Fitts

Buron <!-- SPELLING: "Buron" is indeed the spelling, not "Burton" -->Rogers Fitts (March 22, 1895 - March 29, 1973) was a California politician, who was the 29th Lieutenant Governor of the state from 1927 to 1928 and Los Angeles County district attorney thereafter until 1940.

Born in Belcherville, Texas, Fitts received his law degree in 1916 from the University of Southern California, and while a student there worked as a clerk for the prominent attorney Earl Rogers.

According to For the People — Inside the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office 1850-2000, by Michael Parrish, Fitts was a severely injured veteran of World War I whose base of political support lay in the American Legion organization of war veterans. He had been shot in the knee in the Battle of Argonne and limped for the rest of his life.

He was appointed deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County in 1920 during the term of Thomas Lee Woolwine and chief deputy in 1924 under Asa Keyes. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1926 and served in the administration of Governor C.C. Young. Fitts term as lieutenant governor of California: January 4, 1927 to November 30, 1928. Governor Young appointed H. L. Carnahan, lieutenant governor on December 4, 1928, vice Buron Fitts, resigned.

In 1928, Keyes was indicted for bribery (in connection with the Julian Petroleum Company scandal), and Fitts resigned effective Nov. 30 of that year to become a special prosecutor in that case. He was...
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