Power Profile: Jamie Burger, State Representative

Anytime Rep. Jamie Burger (R-148, Benton) wants a reminder of his roots, all he does is look up. There, hanging on the wall across from his desk in the Missouri Capitol is a photograph of the cement plant in Cape Girardeau where Burger worked most of his career. He spent 37 years — including three decades in management—at Buzzi Unicem USA, Inc.

“That picture is a good reminder of where I came from,” Burger said. “It keeps me grounded.”

Burger was elected to the Missouri House in November 2020. Traditionally, newly-elected lawmakers embark on what is known as the Freshman Tour before their first legislative session. But due to the pandemic, it was postponed until June 2021. A large group of new legislators got to spend one week touring parts of the state and visiting various businesses and industries.

“The tour showcased all of Missouri. We are in a very diverse state. From the southeast to the northwest, from the northeast to the southwest, Missouri has a lot to offer,” Rep. Burger said. “The tour exposes us to what we don’t know about other parts of the state - the opportunities and the hardships.”

One stop was at Ameren Missouri's Taum Sauk pumped-storage hydroelectric energy center, near Ironton. “All I can say is wow. It was impressive,” Burger noted. “I just think Ameren Missouri has done a good job with the site.”

He noted that the energy sector is important in Missouri. Not just from a power perspective, but also as an industry that creates “good, well-paying jobs.”

Through the Smart Energy Plan, Ameren Missouri is making improvements to the energy grid. Several upgrades have been made in southeast Missouri, Burger’s stomping grounds, to help improve reliability of service for many customers. These energy grid investments are creating jobs for Ameren Missouri crews, contractor companies, and many of Ameren Missouri's customers, as they expand their business operations through Ameren Missouri's Economic Development Incentive as part of the Smart Energy Plan.

The legislation that made the Smart Energy Plan possible was before Burger’s time in the General Assembly. He only has one regular session under his belt. But he is no stranger to statewide politics.

For 18 years, he served on the Scott County Commission, including 12 years as Presiding Commissioner.

“With my background, I thought I could make a difference,” Burger said of why he ran for the state legislature. “State representative and county commissioner are two different roles, but because of my time on the county commission there weren’t really any surprises as a state lawmaker.”