Pat is a three-time Mayor of Palo Alto and a leading driver of the city’s climate change efforts. This has included successfully pushing in 2013 to set a goal for Palo Alto of 100% clean electricity supply—a goal the city reached in 2017. He has since continued to push on numerous additional steps. A former tech CEO, Pat has dedicated himself to public service, serving nine years on the Planning and Transportation Commission before joining the City Council in 2008. After two terms, he took a four-year break before returning to the council in 2020. 

More recently, Pat has pushed to establish a goal of community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030, and has chaired committees charged with helping the city reach that goal. He has also been representing the city on the boards of both Caltrain and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

Pat has led efforts to adopt decarbonization building codes and supports the Air District’s “zero NOx” rules to phase out polluting methane gas appliances; an initiative to upgrade the city’s electric grid; and an initiative to help residents install and finance heat pump water heaters.

Website: https://www.patburt.org/ 

Volunteer: https://www.patburt.org/volunteer