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Bill Bunten
Bunten in 2011
Mayor of Topeka
In office April 5, 2005 – April 9, 2013
Preceded by	James McClinton
Succeeded by	Larry Wolgast
Member of the Kansas Senate from the 20th district
In office January 13, 2003 – 2004
Preceded by	Lynn Jenkins
Succeeded by	Vicki Schmidt
Member of the Kansas House of Representatives
In office January 14, 1963 – January 14, 1991
Preceded by	Ernest J. Underwood
Succeeded by	William Roy Jr.
Constituency	34th District (1963-1965) 33rd District (1965-1967) 47th District (1967-1973) 54th District (1973-1991)
Personal details
Born	William Wallace Bunten (1930-04-05)April 5, 1930 Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Died	February 29, 2020(2020-02-29) (aged 89) Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jo Ann Bunten ​(m. 1962)​
Children	2
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Rank	Captain

William Wallace Bunten (April 5, 1930 – February 29, 2020) was an American politician from Kansas. He served as mayor of Topeka, Kansas, having been elected to a four-year term in 2005 and re-elected in 2009. Before being elected mayor, he served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1963 to 1991 and in the Kansas Senate from 2003 to 2004. He previously ran for mayor in 2001 and in a special election in 2003. To date, Bunten is the last member of the Republican Party to serve as Topeka mayor.

Bunten was the first mayor to be elected in Topeka under the new council-manager government, which stripped most of the powers of the office of mayor. Instead, the city council and appointed city manager held most of the power. As such, Bunten's role was limited to leading city council meetings, promoting economic development, and being the "ceremonial head" of the city. He replaced James McClinton as mayor, who did not seek a second term after the powers of the office were reduced.

A native Topekan, Bunten was a basketball player while attending Topeka High School. He was a teammate and good friend of Dean Smith, who later went on to fame as a basketball coach at North Carolina. Bunten and Smith both attended the University of Kansas and were members of Phi Gamma Delta social fraternity. After college Bunten entered the US Marine Corps and served in Korea, rising to the rank of captain.

In 2010, Bunten decided to change the name of Topeka to Google in honor of the company Google, Inc. for one day. This was considered a ploy to attract Google to Topeka as a site for a high speed Internet installation. The site eventually was located in Kansas City, Kansas.

Bunten led an effort to improve the downtown area and promoted a plan to raise funds for the development of the area.

In 2012, Bill Bunten announced that he would not seek re-election in April 2013 at a City Council meeting.

He died of complications of pneumonia on February 29, 2020.

References

1. "Mayor Bill Bunten will not seek re-election - KSNT.com - 27 NBC - Topeka, Kansas". KSNT.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-16.
2. "Bunten won't seek re-election as mayor". CJOnline.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
3. William Wallace Bunten-obituary

External links

• Mayor website (Archived)
• "The Capital-Journal article about the election, April 2004". Retrieved 2013-09-28.
• Mayor looks to repeal law making snowball throwing a crime by the Associated Press
• Bunten seeks picket resolution by Tim Hrenchir of The Capital-Journal, July 2006

• 2020 deaths
• 1930 births
• Republican Party Kansas state senators
• Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives
• Mayors of Topeka, Kansas
• Military personnel from Kansas
• University of Kansas alumni
• 21st-century mayors of places in Kansas
• United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War
• Deaths from pneumonia in Kansas
• Topeka High School alumni
• 20th-century members of the Kansas Legislature
• 21st-century members of the Kansas Legislature