Burke is a minor character from the television series Gotham, acting as the Mayor of Gotham City during the show's fourth season. He succeeded former mayor Aubrey James following the Tetch Virus incident. While not as blatantly corrupt as his predecessor, his tenure as mayor was marred by indecision and compromise. He was largely powerless to do anything about Oswald Cobblepot taking over the city's underworld and unionizing crime. When Sofia Falcone came to Gotham, she persuaded Burke to promote Jim Gordon to Captain of the Gotham City Police as a means of keeping him under her thumb. During the rampage of Professor Pyg, Burke went into hiding, only resurfacing after Pyg's death and Sofia's defeat.
Death[]
In the Season 4 finale "No Man's Land", Mayor Burke met with the members of his cabinet to discuss cancelling Gotham's evacuation following the arrest of the terrorist Jeremiah Valeska. However, unbeknownst to him or anyone else, Ra's al Ghul had procured one of Jeremiah's battery bombs and had it planted underneath City Hall. The mayor was killed when the bomb went off and completely destroyed the building.