The Vermont Cynic

Why Bernie Sanders was Burlington’s best mayor

Before he was a household name in the U.S., Bernie Sanders transformed Burlington from a rundown city into the vibrant community that it is today. In a political upset, Sanders won the 1981 mayoral race against five-term incumbent Gordon Paquette by just 10 votes, according to a March 3 WCAX article. In the late 19th century, Burlington was the U.S.’s third-largest lumber port. By the mid-20th century, the waterfront had 83 oil storage tanks, according to Burlington Geographic. However, by the 1980s, the waterfront was an industrial wasteland, according to a May 2016 WBUR article.  Sanders supported the creation of a public waterfront park over the privatization of the Burlington waterfront, according to a May 2015 Politico article. As mayor, Sanders revitalized a lawsuit that helped the city acquire the land along the waterfront. This led to the creation of the Waterfront Park, according to a Feb. 2020 Burlington Free Press article. Sanders also worked to open the Burlington Bike Path, according to a Feb. 2016 Macleans article. Forty years later, Waterfront Park and Burlington Bike Path provide free access to the shores of Lake Champlain and are invaluable parts of the Burlington landscape. Additionally, Sanders worked to increase and preserve affordable housing in Burlington. He created the Community and Economic Development Office and helped establish the Burlington Community Land Trust, which was the first municipality-supported housing trust in the country, according to Northgate History. Since their creation, both CEDO and the Burlington Community Land Trust — now known as the Champlain Housing Trust — have expanded access to affordable housing in Burlington.  Sanders also opposed a plan to convert the Northgate apartments in the New North End into luxury units. Instead, he helped the City of Burlington purchase the apartments, which housed 336 working-class families, and created the Northgate Residents Association, according to a June 2015 The Nation article. These decisions ended the attempt to convert the apartments into luxury units, and today, Northgate is still a resident-owned community that houses working-class families. Sanders also helped foster growth in the Burlington community and strengthened the Burlington economy.  He established Neighborhood Planning Assemblies to expand the opportunities for Burlington residents to engage with elected officials, created Burlington City Arts and brought a baseball team to Centennial Field in Burlington. Sanders supported the city’s first pride march and passed an anti-discrimination ordinance for city housing, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. He closed the coal-powered Moran Plant and opened the McNeil Plant, which is fueled by biomass and wood waste. This set Burlington on a path towards being renewably powered, and in 2014, Burlington became the first U.S. city powered 100% by renewable energy, according to a Nov. 2016 Politico article. When people called on Sanders to close a General Electric factory that produced Gatling guns for the U.S. military, he refused, according to a June 2019 Washington Post article. I believe he understood that closing the factory would not impact the U.S. military and would only put 3,000 people out of work. Sanders also discovered a $1.9 million surplus in the city’s budget and conducted the first audit of the city’s pension fund in 30 years, according to an April 1985 Los Angeles Times article.  In his final term, Sanders convinced the University of Vermont and UVM Medical Center to help fund police and fire services in the city, according to an Oct. 2016 VTDigger article. As mayor, Sanders ensured that Burlington became a city that worked for everybody, not just the top 1%.