In 1844 Burns was elected sheriff of Iowa County. Later, in 1849 he served in the
Wisconsin State Assembly. In 1850, he moved to
La Crosse, Wisconsin, and took a position on the State Board of Public Works. He was the chairman of the first La Crosse Town Board, chairman of the first La Crosse County Board and the first La Crosse county judge, while also engaging in the railroad industry. In 1851, he was elected as a
Democrat and became the Wisconsin's third Lieutenant Governor under the State's second Governor,
Leonard Farwell. ==Death and legacy==