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VERMONT'S STA1EWlDE \ffEKLY

BAI LEY LI BRARY
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BURLI NGTON, VT
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05401
REFERENCE ROOM
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Reconsi der i ng t he Revol ut i on;
Wi l l t he CoupConf i nue?
ByJeff Good
O
neblustery Saturday the Hon-
orable Bernard Sanders, M3jQt
ofBurli ngton, stopped inside
amend's hometodon thermal
socks before continuing acam-
paign swing through theOldNorth End.
A. helaced hisshoes, apoliceman - one
of the city employees who have ben-
efited from Sanders' sympathetic ear-
strolled up to Sanders' small car and
slapped aticket on itswindshield.
'Iwo years after the coup, Burling-
ton's colorful mayor still can't get no
respect. And the present campaign is
noexception.
Since Sanders swept into office in
1981 with tousled hair and afierce
desire toreshape city government, the
city'spolitical establishment hasalfurded
him no special privilege. Indeed, its
members havere-actedtoSanders' sharp
tongue and stubborn ideas by stone-
walling him at every possible opportu-
nity.
Undaunted and even energized by
their opposition, the41-year-old Brook-
lyn native thrashed along, introducing
reforms and opening the musty corri-
dors of City Hall tofresh ideas. 1bday,
manymembers of theso-calJedoldguard
grndgingly recognize thevalueof some
of hisefforts,
That doesn't mean they're willing to
sit idly by while Sanders breezes into
another two-year term, though. The
Democratic andRepubUcan partieshave
fielded candidates that could giveSan-
dersatougher - albeit dillerent - battle
than he had two yearsago, when asa
little-known outsider hewooed disen-
chanted votersanddeposed Democrat
Gordon Paquette with amere 10votes
tospare.
"It'sgoing tobetighter:' than expect-
ed, said Barbara Reale, Sanders' earn-
paign coordinator. If no candidate
garners more than 40 percent of the
voteandSandersisforced intoarun-off
with either Gilson or Stephany, Jane
Driscoll, city youth coordinator and
Sanders' personal friend, "we're in
trouble."
Republican candidate Jim Gilson,
school board chairman and owner of
Big Ben's pizza parlors, charges that
Sanders has done little but start the
city on aheadlong plunge into eco-
nomic distress and has introduced
reforms that were hardly startling.
Democrat Judith Stephany, former
minority leader in the'krmont House
andanative of Queens, New York,sup-
ports many of Sanders' initiatives and
ideas. However, she claims she could
realize such goals without alienating
people. "The last two yearshavesbown,"
the38-year-oldStephany saidat arecent
debate, "that those who make the
revolution arenot always those best
qualified tolead after thecoup."
Inlessthan two weeks, Burlington
voterswill turnout inexpected record
numbers toprove her right. Or wrong.
J
imGilson outside aTuesday
night bingo gan,e, shifting from
foot to foot and adjusting his
drab green ski parka. No hard
pitches lbr theincoming players
and potential supporters, just abrief,
winsome smile.
"I feel sorrylbqou," amanresponded
to Gilson's greeting. "Nothing against
}OU personaUy," saidCarl Marquit, adding
afew more creases tohisleathery face
with agrin, "but Ithink Bernie's been
doing apretty good Job and should
haveasecond chance."
Gilson listened respeetfully, muttered,
"I appreciate that," then badegoodbye
without trying towin the man over.
This example of Gilson's reserved,
almost timid, campaigning styiestands
insharp contrast with thehigh-powered
terrorist attack he iswaging on the
incumbent through an expensive ad
campaign. But it seemsconsistent with
themoderately conservanvephilosophy
that motivated Gilson to take on San-
ders. Handinhand with hisconviction
that individuals - not governments-
areresponsible lbr their own wellbeing,
goesaquiet respect for dillering opin-
ions.
Such deference does not apolitical
strategy make, however - especially
'when competing with twoexperienced
politicos who never hesitate to toot
their own trumpets. When courting
voterson thecampaign trail andthrough
thepress, thebespectacled andbalding
Indiananativeoften misses chances to
articulate thedillerences between him
and his opponents, stressing instead
issues that can help him little - and
actually mayhaw: <iaJnalledhisunderdog
candidacy.
The tactical blunders began early in
thecampaign. Oneof Gilson'sfirst press
releases blasted Sanders for pushing a
25-cent properry tax hikeupon taking
office. Gilson failed to mention that
Gordon Paquettewould haw: supported
a65-cent hike if elected and. more
importantly, that Gilson had emerged
asone of the tax increase's vocal sup-
porters.
Askedwhy hewas reversing hisposi
tion now, Gilson said he hadn't really
supported thehikebut along with other
members of theschool board was merely
ttying to "cooperate" with the new
ffi3jQr.
Iost in the crossfire over this and
other snafuswere objections tonearly
theentire Sanders agenda. 1b wit: Gil-
son said the fiscal reforms of which
Sanders often boasts were "very ob-
vious, self-evident." Instead of figur-
ing by hand, headded, the city could
manageitscheckbook moreefficiently
by tapping the computer facilities it
owns.
The computer isrun by the school
department,andCitylteasurer)onatban
Leopold, Jr. shot back that "one of the
reasons wenever did anything with it
isbecause wecould never get anything
out of them [theschool officials]."
Gilson also attacked the mayor's
after-school activities, which he ~
cost S30,OOOandbenefit only 150chil-
dren. The program does little tocorn-
bat Juvenile delinquency, Gilson said,
and may be little more than acostly
"babysitting service."
'\buth programsneed toprovidemore
of a"sense of belonging" tofight dclin-
quency, hesaid. If elected, Gilson said
eo..............JMpl0
CottIM ...... .tr-oIMP1
he would model the program after-
mu:resringlyl'I1ough- the Brooklyn Th:e
Corps, which recruits children toplanr
trees and provides achance ror earnmg
poc~tmonq. .
These views rarely make headlines,
though, andGilson's campaign manager
KathJ een McGreevyadmiaed sheisotlen
frustrated byher boss' inabiliry tovoice
"dJ -considered "iews inpublic J Orwm.
"It scares the heU out of him" to be in
the limelight, she said recently. "E-ery
little thing lOll say isgoing to be used
ror and againsljOll." .
One opinion that basgo~ press IS
Gilson's convictiOO thai BurlingIoo can-
not redistribute wealth - it can only
promote business de>eJ opment and
hope that affluence triddes down to
the less fOrtunate. "There are a lot of
things we want to do J Or the dry of
Burlington," Gilson bas said O\U and
O\U"TIle one thing we need to ~
thai aU possible is money,"
Instead of slapping restaurants and
other businesses with new taxes, Gilson
would accelerate development of the
waterfront and use the added revenue
to improve the streets and other infra
structure needed to suppon an active
commercial environment. He would
also tip these revenues, along with those
generated by the McNeil wood chip
burning plant, to gradually phase out
the inventory tax which he says bas
kqJ t a /aqjedepanment store fromlocar-
ing downtown.
Gilson is "skeptical" about the pro-
grams Sanders designed for the city's
poor, young and elderly. Gilson would
not expand such city acrivtties, but
instead use the mayor's office to lever-
age private in",M:ment. One idea he
frequently mentions is getting private
groups togM: the eIderly rides tochurch
on weekends,
ti
ocated blocks away from thepolished
wood and brass rails of Church
Street's chic bistros, Dough Girl's
8aIcery is one of the few remaining
shreds of theoldBurlington After
finishing their night shifts, wo~duck
in from the icy wind gusting off Lake
Champlain fur acup of mouth-scalding
colli:e and some weary conversation.
The Democratic Party's lastminute
hope, ableary~ J udy Stephany, SlIJ .llI.
bled in at 8:29 one morning. After
unsuccessfully attempting to convince
a~ to split a cbocolate d0ugh-
nut, Stephany turned her round, pleas-
ant fuce10the mansitting beside her in
blue work clothes.
"Hi, I'mJ udy Stephany and I'm run-
ning for mayor of Burlington," she
offered. The man grunted and cra~
a shy stniIe.
"I didn't e>en know shewas running,"
Ron1burville said latec
This scene may be an apt metapbor
ror Stephany's attempt at Ory HaIl's
most eo>eted seat. Because of her late
stan and acampaign machine that may
ne>er hit Itsstride, most "'ters aren't as
Mayor Bernie Sanders and]udy Stephany: will the inner circle stay broken?
Iiuniliar with Stephany as with Gilson
and Sanders. If they do know who she
is,many would be hard put 10saywhat
she stands roc
That's the catch. While Gilson and
Sanders trade verbal barbs, Stephany
stayS quietly in the background, stu-
diously avoiding taking hard stands on
many ~ issues. Instead, she empha-
sizes her willingness to rorge compro-
mise between warring factions. She also
spends a goodly amount of time lash-
ing at Sanders for the divisiveness she
claims he has bred with his "confron-
tational style."
"No matter who's the mayor of Bur-
lington, there are di-erse groups with
competing interests," she said "But if
you don't agree with Sanders, you're
labeled 'anti-people, anti-progressive,
anti good. "
''Whether he ~s it or not," she
continued, pointing a finger at Ciry
HaIl from her seat in a nearby restaur.
ant, "we've got a weak mayor rorm of
go-emment." Uttle gets done if the
mayor isconstantly "firing cannonballs
O>er" the heads of aldermen, commis-
sioners and department heads.
Her desire 10 work within the sys-
tem in Montpelier often met with fros-
tration in the face of a conservative
majority, she said, but was the only WlI)'
to achieve anything. Backroom bar-
gaining permitted her to do more for
Burlington than Sanders has, she
claimed. Over 1700,000 returned to
lower income Burlington taxpayers in
the form of targeted propeny tax relief,
she said. In addition, she is credited
with passage of the "Independence
Fund," which targets money to groups
that keep elderly and handicapped peo-
ple out of institutions and in the com-
muniry.
While Stephany carries solidly liberal
credentials in her political portfolio,
and agrees with Sanders' goals, she has
~n pains to distance herself almost
asmuch from him asfrom Gilson. Inso
doing, she hopes 10win O>er the amor-
phous - but all-important - center of
the electorate.
lb liberals, she olkrs the hope of
achieving more of Sanders' agenda
through her "conciliatory" skill5. lb ron-
servati>es doubtful of Gilson's abiliry 10
capturemore than aquarter of the "'te,
she olkrs a safer alternative.
Substance runs a distant second in
Stephany's campaign. Many of her pro-
posals resemble those of the other can-
didates, Like Gilson, she calls for amore
pro-business environment, repeal of the
inventory tax and more attention ror
the school programs that take over half
the city's budget. Like Sanders, she\\OOld
develop alternatives to the propeny l2X
and has proposed mini- town meetings
for each ward that closely resemble his
neighborhood planning assemblies. With
both candidates, she calls for increased
police protection.
Other ideas offer little promise. For
example, after IabeIing Sanders' proposal
for interim waterfront zoning a "con-
crete plan of inaction,' Stephany spoke
vaguely of "acquiring" waterfront land
and controlling its use. Howeve~ she
wasn't sure how much the land would
cost, or how ntany federal dollars the
ciry could obtain for the undenaking.
On the one hand, Stephany lauds San-
ders' elfuns 10 inmlve citizens in polil
ical decision making: "Opinion from
whate>er perspecti-e isgood." On the
othe~ she attacks the results of these
ellOns: "I don't think Burlington can
alfurd the decentralization that's been
going on the last two years."
While "'ters hungry for solid stances
will find Stephany's political cupboard
thinly stocked in this race, a former
Republicanjim Gilsontalks trickle-downat tbe OasisDiner.
Montpelier colleague said Stephany's
conciliatory personality could accom-
plish much.
'J udy has aiw.J }5 assumed wecouldn't
win unless we built up support from
the other side," said Rep. Althea Kroger
(D-Essex), former minority whip. "What
J udy could do that Bernie hasn't been
able to do...is get the aldermen to agree,
one wJ Y or the other."
B
ernie Sanders likes to have the
last word, and this was no ex-
ception. After breaking Briewith
agroup of young professionals
at a fundraiser in a fashionable
southside home, the incumbent seized
his soapbox.
"We inherited stupidity, apathy and
inertia," Sanders intoned. But if voters
return him to office and place more
supporters on the Board of Aldermen,
"We wiU be able to do things that are
not being done in the United States of
America."
Modesty has never been a Bernie
Sanders trademark - whether discussing
his ambitions or trying to realize them.
Ironically enough, Sanders' most fre-
quent boast is that, in effect, he has
out-capitalisted the capitalists during
his two-year tenure. Though Sanders'
aides joke privately their boss can't bal-
ance his checkbook, City Treasurer
J onathan Leopold,)r. and Assistant 'Ireas-
urer Barr Wright have done much to
clean up city books. Since arriving last
summer, they have discovered a $1.9
million surplus, redistributed city funds
into higher-paying investments, put city
fuel purchases and insurance policies
up for competitive bid, and reformed
the Cemetery Endowment Fund, which
Sanders claims was giving low-interest
loans to friends and relatives of City
HaU moguls.
Sanders and his team have also im-
proved the lot of city workers, increased
the number of housing inspections, and
sparked citizen involvement in politi-
cal decision making by creating task
forces, neighborhood planning assem-
blies, and volunteer programs such as
Operation Snowshovel.
Perhaps his most impressive feat,
though, has been the least tangible
Sanders and his so-called Sandernistas
have shown that you can take on the
machine and beat it.
But is beating it enough? That has
become the central issue of the cam-
paign, with opponents charging that
the time has come to replace the poli-
tics of confrontation with a spirit of
cooperation.
Sitting in his office with aplaque of
Socialist guru Eugene Debs looking
down upon him, Sanders wrestles with
the question of his "confrontational"
attitudes. "The fact that there are dif-
ferences of opinion does not" neces-
sarily mean there is an undue amount
of conflict, he carefully begins, run-
ning fingers through his tousled head
of salt-and-pepper hair.
"10. the old days, there was a lot of
discussion going on behind closed
doors," he continued. "That's not my
style."
Instead of conferring with opponents
before public gatherings, Sanders prefers
to lumber into meetings with his stan-
dard uniform of corduroy pants and
button-down shirts and drop his bombs
then and there - or to communicate
through the media. Sanders is con-
vinced that he will realize his ends
better by appealing to public sympa-
thies than by closed-door bartering
with people whose values he long ago
spumed.
"We're taking our ideas out to the
people," he says in the gruff tone of an
Old Left orator "We love to see the
people put pressure on the Board of
Al dermen."
While Sanders and his camp blame
conJ licts over issues such as the pro-
posed Southern Connector on memo
bers of the old guard terrified of loos-
ening their once-tight grip on power,
opponents insist it takes two to tangle.
Alderman Wtlliam Skelton (RWard
6) said that when he took his seat on
the board last year, he was disturbed by
the internecine warfure waged by the
mayor and city council. He offered San-
ders the proverbial olive branch by
proposing to discuss compromises
before meetings, Skelton said, but "1
haven't heard from him since."
"1don't have to negotiate with Will,"
Sanders retorted, adding that major phil-
osophic diJ lCrenees preclude reasonable
compromise.
Sanders arrived in \ermont in 1969.
Since then, hehassold ads tOrananti-war
newspaper. produced radical films, and
struggled to become the political
mouthpiece for workers and other
disenfranchised persons. Suspicious of
both businessmen and aOIuent liberals
(who nevertheless furnish alarge chunk
of his support), he sees most every-
thing - including his adrrunistratton -
in terms of class struggle.
Michael Rotkin is a leftist politician
operating in an environment remarka-
bly similar to Sanders'. Rotkin just com-
pleted a term as mayor of Santa Cruz,
California, an oceanside community of
approximately 45,000 with large num-
bers of students, retirees livingon fixed
incomes and young professionals work-
ing in high-technology firms. Comment-
ing on Sanders' often-strident criticism
of capitalism, Rotkin said; "I teach Marx-
ism at the university, but I don't give
speeches like that. Italk to people in
language they can understand."
Sanders shows signs of moving, slowly,
toward agentler approach. He reversed
his opposition to the Southern Con-
nector, and recently began wearing a
tie and making overtures to business
owners. "Nobody is ann-business,' he
said two weeks before the elections.
'luu need avital downtown."
Sanders is working on aprogram to
provide small firms with low-interest
seed money, he said, and his efforts to
stabilize property tax rates have bene-
fited all business owners.
Nevertheless, Sanders hasn't forgot-
ten the people who put him inoffice in
the first place, and will be needed to
keep him there; a patchwork of cops,
poor and elderly people, blue collar
workers, artists, young professionals, stu
dents and professors, While at first glance
anunlikely coalition, the group isunited
byacommon belief: before Bernie, they
were excluded from the inner circle of
Burlington powerbrokers.
"Nobody ever gave any indication that
they knew we existed," said Lyndo!
Atkins, leader of more than 100 union-
eo........ -IMP12
Conlin'"'" from J.HIge 11
ized municipal workers. "Before
I can remember gertin up at
meetings to speak and [being
made to feel] like a complete
f ool ."
Knocking .on often flimsy
doors in the inner city wards
that have benefited most from
Sanders' concern, the I11ajQrfinds
agenerally warmwelcome.
''There's about seven of us here
gonna vote fur you," said one
elderly \VOI1Ian, grabbing Sanders'
face and giving it a kiss. "I'm
telling you, we're all funs of you
down here."
Here inhis heartland, Sanders
refrains from diatribes against
the corporate money mongers.
Instead he is almost reverent,
ducking his head and mumbling,
"I think we've done apretty good
job, and we'd like acouple more
years to finish what we started."
Similar to many politicians
--r
who look out for the masses, he
seems uncomfortable when not
talking political shop. In one
home a man laughed about his
son damaging the Sights on his
rifle. "I guess that's what you
get," Sanders said lamely, "when
you let kids play with rilles."
But ask him what he's done
lOr the city's less fortunate ami
fire leaps into Sanders' eyes. "You
see this?" he asks, scuffing his
fuot against a freshly plowed
sidewalk. "Boy, were the Dem-
ocrats pissed when we came up
with S 100,000 to buy those
snowplows," he laughed.
When asked what he has done
to help the renters who form a
large part of his constituency,
though, Sanders is hard put to
point out any concrete advances.
After arent control proposal was
soundly defeated at the polls,
Sanders dropped that idea. All
he has come up with since is a
--0
Proposed 10-cent property tax
cut which he hopes landlords
will pass on to their tenants. He
also speaks of plans to use fed-
eral dollars to subsidize lower-
income housing, and trade-offs
with whoever develops the
waterfront.
Sanders points to the difficulty
of getting even small measures
past the last vestiges of the old
guard. "People are not as aware
as they might be of the enor-
mous difficulty" of getting things
done in City hail.
However, Sanders bristles at
the suggestion that J udy Stephany
could better help renters or
advance a progressive agenda
with her middle-of-the-road
POliticking. Stephany is too "be-
bolden" to the old powerbrokers
IIId1aIlenge their values, he said.
As for his administration, he
added, ''We're not beholden to
~ne."
T H E
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