[4] Burgess won a surprisingly easy victory over former provincial cabinet minister James McCrae in the 2002 municipal election to succeed Atkinson as Mayor of Brandon.
After the election, Burgess announced that he would support a province-wide smoking ban to remove what he called an "unlevel playing field" between Brandon and the surrounding communities.
[6] In March 2003, Burgess entered into negotiations with Maple Leaf Pork regarding the use of high-membrane technology to cut water pollution from the firm's large Brandon plant.
[7] He wrote a public letter in support of a second shift for Maple Leaf's facility in September of the same year, arguing that it would create good jobs and be beneficial to the city.
[8] Burgess opposes the principle of urban reserves, arguing that they create uneven market opportunities for business owners of different racial backgrounds.