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Volume X I I
NUIII~r3J 27l989
OcIOuer
NEW 5
Free Press Union '" ... , _
G et s Tough........ ~
The "I nside Trailimm lL~.
on Peter Freyne ..
A RT 5 OCT 181f :l:J r- ;;;;r;;- ;;;;:;, '
~~~.tlBR
Fif ly Cents
12.1' I'"
OCT 0 t: fit quality of life in OUf country."' It was moe
.Itopics At first some I es endorsement than be usually gave in pUbl~of all
and8few.con~v:=l A slim folder on "GE ic.
were a dlS~Ppo.?' : ed ooly two flyers. My I
DemonstraUO~ l~~~~ders had saved only one
::; n~=orcn<K e IoIIl! IettelS Iwrote to him n 1983, Sanders' administration and the
ewer 1Ile yws., ~ _ chose to .overall Progr~~v~ mo~~~~~ were inhigh
The 1eI\er SaJ ideD - '0<1 J ...,,; Im.1o n for gear.The~l11nuhtes0 tbe dPn d" 3administra.
was 01),& in. _bicb ur~ ~.. .. live meetmg s ow a rca an Increasingly
::'CSSl1ltbel tbaa~J n 1~; ~~~ tematicapproach.With five ProgressiveCoali~r~~
tlllIts poop~~ ~~.. members on the hoard, the staff charted a mull'
eoun ~m~~~'. l'~Ie!l'ff faceted push.Assis.tant City Attorney J ohnFra~:
~gilla! jj~lilo.4&J lOUItfOl; ; qJ 1ll~%: co, Personnel Director Peter C1avelle and
th" They offetcd advice,wammgsaOd~~ Treasurer J onathan Leopold were clearly at th
aoo er. '"'.. , di I c
th a few pats on trlC back. center of things, lea 109P 80S to expand health
a~uthor andres~er GerardColby,for ex- insurance fa: city employees, streamline alder_
am le, noted in a N~mber 1983 leu~r, before manic meetings, bring more women into the
P, gtoVermon. do:ainterstatebankmgwould police department. and push through interim
movm ~I'.,.d Z O .~nLon "H d '
buI1ctfoIts. lO$ij)p mmtum ev .>T- :::e- zoning. ow 0 we org~nJ ze around major
I,he WlIUfdl:jInt &fji ing entrepr . ~ ~illI. development issues until the Community
d~~a ~and powerfui.81,fy~bey Development Office is formed?"the minutes ask.
VtrmOOtt~" Three ye~,'I~ A list of over 40 actu,al and proposed projects,
... b9kinI~ a bot statewl~~u~. in another April memo, l~cluded a rental housing
Thi foUowing month, Montpt.. a(tpfD:ey clearinghouse, alternative school, emergency
RlcbardRubiD O'tpressedbisconcern that thecity shelter, office of arts and culture, international
migbtbeduped indealings with deve1op,ersof t~~ work camps, taxi subsidies, park improvements,
waterfront. "I thought I would pqln~o~lO. Y youth ceuter and selfdefense classes. With each
that the term 'profit' bas little meaD~ m~ge- : month, the list grew longer.
sca! erealestatedevelepmeOlSl'hewrote. = Among Sanders' many frustrations about
projects can operal:e; atsu~iaI ba~e..s Burlington's form of.governm~nt~ commissions
losses but still be quite lucrauve 10the IDVestors. may bave topped the list.CQmmlSSloners,mostof
"lam sure therearegood accountants who can themaligned with the Democrats and Republicans,
explain dUsto you." . controlled most city departments. Attempts to
By spring of 1984. Sanders bad, statewide unify and streamline were resisted by bureaucrats,
visibility and growing local power.WI.thGeorge commissioners and the aldermanic majority.
Thabaults victory in solidly Democrallc Ward 5, Prior to Sanders' electiQn, one handwritten
tbe Progressives gained a sixth se~t on the board analysis reveals, the vast majorily of appoint-
of alders, Sanders considered bnefly, and then ments were made with only one candidatc inthe
rejected the idea Qf arun for governor that year. running.In 1980, only tWQQutof25 appoinlmcnls
Many people offered opinions on what be should were contested.TWQyears later.however.all but
do. Among them was Democrat Pe.ler Welch, two invol...... ed competitiQn.
himself a potenlial statewide candldaf.c, ",- ,he In a March 1983 leiter to the aldermen,
wrote, "CQngratulations on your recent vlctones. Sanders focused on one area of inequality."Of the
Perhaps your opponents hav~~ome to the rcl~c. 103 citizens turrently serving Qn Burlington's
tant conclusion that the poill/~ of obstruction commissions," he reminded them, "only 21arc
doesn't work. .. women.Clearly, the City of Burlington wantsto
"While I understand your reecDt C! eclslOn, address this serious il1equality of representation,"
many had looted forward 10 your campaign.Per BUISanders Y o 1I. :d to dQ much more than
baps another day." that.He looked toward changes in the city charter,
S
including shorler terms of Qffice for cQmmis
sioners.The current structure, he fclt, "re.~ieson
anders rarely hesitated to offe~advice to the Board of Aldermen ... for handling many
other politicians.To Ronald Reagan, on routine ndministralive matl~rs more properly the
responsib J t an executIve. The Mayor com
petes with iJ variety of independent boards, com-
missions, committees and individuals ...."
In the spring the aldermen asked for a
clarification from the city attorney, who wrote
back that."some commissiQns are subject to or
ders issued by the City Council while others ~re
not."In fact, at least eight cQmmissions, includm~
traffic, police, planning, parks and recreati?~,
lightandthe library, werenol subject lathe councils
orders in areas delegated to them by tbe charIer.
Tbis news, of course, did not dissuade
Sanders, his staff and supporters from tryingto
unify the administration. One approach was to
iii support departmen'''' mergers, several of which
~ were considered during the '80s.
~ Hearing from Police Chief Beaulieu, (~r ex-
I ample. that a merger of the police and airport
commissions might prove beneficial. Sand~rs
supporled the plan and prQposed ajoint meeung
to "discuss the pros and cQns."The response from
botb commissiQns was unenthusiastic. One com-
missioner argued angrily that, "IT there ~sany
merger it sbould be with the Soutb Burlington
PQnCeDepartment,"since that iswhere theairport
is located.The entire Airport PQliceDepartmenl
opposed the idea, and one longtime officer
threatened to resign. .. h
Sanders was apparently taken off guard byI.e
response, especially when Beaulieu changed hIS
mind.A half hour after the joint meeting began,
it was over, and so was the police.airport merger
movement.
va a ,.
IIEllP A P I I
BY GREGSUMA
~
.. . -'
\
H
I. 'nlio ItBtnMSondefs ...a Ibe.
way Isee it loday is that some Ver-
mont/tl:ttave torethink.their attitudetowardBur-
Iingtolf.lae largesl city in thestale, where Ihap-
pen to beftae Mayor.Every year in the Vermont
Legislatu we hear tbat tbere Brepeople who
bave it out tea Burlington.They think we're too
big, too rich, 100 snobbish.They keep telling that
old line ...'Oh, Burlingtoo? That's not too far
from Vermont.,..
II's hard to pinpoint exactly when Bernie
Sanders spoke those words to radio listeners
throughout cenlIBI VermoD! 'The typed page,
buried in a file labeled "WDEV Commentaries,"
shows no broadcasl date. II'S just one of the
countless media stalements Sanders wrote in the
midl980s in hopes of selling the record straighl
about Burlington, himself and lhe world allarge.
That panicular week be aimed to prove thai
"Burlington is really part of Vermont."To build
his case, he menlioned me city's "working dairy
farm,"Ethan AJ kn homestead and new hoISe'
back riding lrails through lhe Inlervale. "Our
Farmer'. Market, community and you.h garden.
ing projects are pretty nifty, '00,"he added.
"And like the best of Vermont traditions, our
city governmenl IDUlinp can get prelly hal 'n
heavy,"he concluded.So, aU in all, isn't Bur.
Iinglon righl in (be bean of Vermont.when you
come down to il?"
Reading that almosl playful radio rap, and
hundreds of other memos, leuers and speeches in
dozens of bulging folders, J was struck by lhe
diversity and sheer volume of writing Sanders
produced over the eight y"s he held office.
Much of his mayoral lire, il seems, was spent
dictating responses and clarifying his ideas.AI.
most any serio~ fener receiVedat least a brief
reply.
the occasion of declaring October 24- 31, ~981
T
Disartl\8lDeol Week iDBurlington, be wrote:
"1"'ge you, iu tbe Sl,roDgestpossible way, 10
o. SU! 'I"l'Ier who thouilbJ , J n~fI8l! , thaI SlOp<loins.'b1lsiness as usual.' In_tioDal con.
Sanders 'las a socialist alpdidate for flicts can no longer be solved by war.ft has DOl
Congress.hecand~~ explained, "S~st is the worked in the past, and it may well destroy the
political and eco~ic philosophy I~, not a world in the future."
party tball run under." Several years later, be made a prQposal to
And when two Californians asked in~ter, former President Carter: that Carter visit
"What does 'Socialism' really mean inthe~ed Nicaragua and help build some housing. "Y our
States at the current state of conditions and con presence there,"heurged inAugust 1985, "would
fusion tbal exists at all levels?"be offered a send a powerful message to the citizens of tbe
characteristic reply: United States, challenging tbem by tbe mQdel of
"That's an excellent question which I really your own efforts to provide material aid to help
don't have the time to answer now.Iwill simply the people of Nicaragua in constructive ways ......
say that in Burlington we have a tbree- party sys- He also kepi in touch with Senator Robert
tern - Progressives, Republicans and Democrats, Stafford, once about normalizing relations with
and that Ilhink we are doing many good things Cuba. "Our cQuntry is supposed to be a free
for working people, poor people and elderly nation,"he wrote, "'in which cilizens are entitled
people in our community." to [ormulate their own views based on the best
Y es
t
Ihal was our Bernie. iofonnation (hal tbey can acquire. It seems ab-
Such exchanges and literally hundreds like selutely wrong to me tbat Americans who wish 10
themare merely a small slice of the history cur visit Cuba are unable 10 do so and that Cubans
renlly siored in a warehouse on theUVM campus. who wish 10 visit the United States are equally
In early 1989, UPODleaving office, SandelS prohibi.ed from doiug so."
dona.ed over SO boxes of his papers andfiles to Stafford's reply was noncommi'tal: "I frankly
the Univenity of Vermoollibrary. S o far no one suspect thaInormalizing of relations with Cuba
except Sanders - and possibly not even him- has will have to wait until fUlureadministrations take
read themall.In faa, since they were caned from over in each country."
Cily Hall 10 the campus, no human excepl J eff . . Despite Sanders' obvious desire to change
Marshall, actingcurator of manuscripts at UVM's military and foreign policies.there isn't much in
library, has even cracked open a box. hispaper.'about local activities insupport oflhese
1be
i
odexaeatedbySpeciaJ ColleclionsalUVM goals.HIScoolness 10 the economic conversion
listsover 1,400 separate files, iu 56 boBes,covering of Burlington's General Electric plan~ in par.
Marcb 198] to November 1988. Acx:ordingto ticular, is evidenced by the absence of any fileon
Sanders' Aide George Thabaul~mucil correspon the subject.All 1could unearth were a few letters.
dence during thefirsl few years was lost.Still the In 1987, he noted to peace activist Robin
remaining files run from Abenaki to Z oning.' Lloyd that OPPOSition10 peace initiatives whicb
By analyzing thc index, I located about 10 costjobs would be enormous.However headded
boxes covering areas such as administrativemeet- "I believe that a rational conversion Policy wili
ings, speeches and statements, commlssi?ns, not only ~esull in more employmenl Opportunities
selected departments and people.proclamatIons for Amencans but in aradical improvement in the
1 2
T
'on
he police department was agam he
SandelS's mind inSeptemher 198~~ d
wrote to Attorney yeneral lohn Ea~ton: He~~ee
the state 10 conduct an investigation iD,to,. Z
serious allegations" including the pOSSibility
criminal activities ~nd tbe department's failureto
vigorously bandle the problems. dart-
During the succeeding months, the ~~is'
mem underwent a thorough review ..The cOJ mes
sion. wQrking with Personnel DlreclOr a les
. .tent ru ,
Dunn, found] 7 trouble spots.Inconsls .'ng
" , dequale IraiD
I
poor communicatIOns. an IDa . a uCS-
program, antiquated record- keepmg and hqeon-
tionable promQtions pQlicy were among t emos'
c1usions filed at the end of tbe year.The ~t one
phere was summed up, in Dunn's report.Y ~ if
, k quesllon ...
patrol officer whQ said, "If you as "
Y QUthink.you bave an attitude problem: Chief
In tbe wake oftbis critical review, poll~e der5
Beaulieu announced bis retirement: an litt
proposed a special commiuee. includl~ge~ his
officers.an alderman and a represent8UV
d a
replacement even before
ommen .
offlce,10 r~ was gone. A national search w~s
weold chief f rrner L os Angeles lawman WI !
dueted and 0
COn look over.
1
,[11aurke d ,Burke was a tough and con-
I . rneOUt
As I t I U ., h more than once bucked horns
I chle
wo
IfOvcrsl3 d ring his less tban two years on
mayor u .
withlhe 1986, 'conservatives were openl~ dis-
lhejob.B y es as a mayoral challenger In the
. ghlschanc
cu
S S ln
.
flex!elcct,lon. ach was made clear during a J une
B urke5approco~cerningcivil disobedience. in
~ change. h
198
J
ex . ith The Burlmgton Free Press, C
. "'leW WI C T B
an mtC,Tested that Assistant ny reasurer arr
bad5ugg I ' decision to trespass on GE properly
swenncrfe t 5 ,.nS I Galling gun production was
alest aga .
asapr, ent with her role at City Hall. ,
incOllS
lst
e J ohn Franco, whose memos In the
Attorn Y the most colorful, wrote to B urke
fileslI re.lI ~~~~ents, Though no fan of civil dis-
abo
D
: his e Franco noted that it was usually based
obedl
enc
, ral conviction" and that Americans
on"strongm~to live in a tolerant society with a
'
re fortuna , 'I dl b dl "
w . . of "principled CI VI I S O e renee.
. h tradltlon h bi
nc IThoreau's classic essay on t e su ject
A COPt~a~hed to his letter,
wa~,a onse to your presumptuous pedagogic
I nresp "I 11 G I
" B urke shot back, WI quote eoera
lelter, McAuliffe when he received an ul-
AfI \bon
y
,omthe German Command to surrender
~~mr . 9
' I ege of B astogne In December 1 44,
al I be S l I if S f I
, TSIII'" B urke suggested t,lat I wenner e t
~ ... .. .
Franco believed that our government I S
oreven ., ..
thenwhy not leave I ts service.
wro~it turned out, B urke and S wennerfclt b~th
~ h'le Franco remained one of the most 10-
lell,WI , .. I .
, I I andfeisty of S anders oogma appomtees.
uUfO la h . . h bl
Francorarely pulled punc es In ell er pu I C
. ate communications. He could even lake
orpn
v
.
b' bossesto task when fairness and honor were
: theline. Thai was precisely I he case, in his
. w when he wrote testily to J oe McNeil on
VIe ,
August22, 1985, .
Forsome time, Franco had been handbng all
requeststo void parking lick~ts, a I han~less task
thatheattempted to syslcmattze and stflP of any
favorilism.Public records were maintained on
each and every decision. Thus, when two
reportersasked whelher he had voided some of
S anders'lickels, he assured them that no request
hadbeenmade or acted upon.
"I maginemy embarrassment and Chagrin," be
wrote, "when I learned I hal without my
rnowledgethe Mayor made a request to you for
thevoiding of the tickets, that you had v0idcd
them,andworse yet, none of this had been com~
municatcdto me!" S anders' end-run had "put the
conduclof this office and my own credibility in
thelerriblelighl."
[f theincident WllS ever repeated, he warned,
"I shall refuse to handle these matters any fur~
ther."
T
he correspnndence [iles, although bulg-
ing with fan mail, are not short on
crilicismseither. Anyone who remains in office
!ongenoughis bound to offend some people, and
S andcrsirritalct.!more thon his share.
Take Pat Robin" who had helped pl.n and
buildChurchS treet Marketplace and chaired the
COmmission beginning in 1985. I n 1986, he hoped
thattheProgressives would back his candidate for
markctplacecommissioner, architecl B ill Truex,
amajorplayer inthe redevelopmenl of downtown
B urlington. When I hey didn't, he complained 10
S anders, "I can'l boneslly believe that you people
wouldletthiskind of talenl go by. It seemed like
anaWfullysmall favor to me:'
Then there was Antonio Pomerleau, an in-
fluentialdeveloper who had remained tbe key
figureon tbe Police Commission during most of
S anders'tenure. I n 1987, be had finally resigned,
Confident that he and lhe mayor understood one
~nothcr.L ess than a year laler, he was upset to
~arnI halthe police force wouldn 'Igel rive addi~
tI Ona I men.
h "Remember B ernie at your last re-election,"
B e~roteheatedly, "you promised I he people of
o~I J ngtonyou would put on an additional 20
walccrsOverI he next four years .... B ernie, this
peS to abS Olute definite commitment to I he
I opeofB urlington. L et's get together on this as
ameXlremelydisappointed."
Theq .
R1d' ueslJ on was, why was he so shocked?
pon~t he heard, from S anders' more biuer op~
lrl1ste~''pthatS anderistas could simply not be
warnin .~{~apshe'd missed the Paul Revere-like
TomC
g
I S S Uedseveral years earlier by S enator
rOWley1[' . .
31 DVM . ::;0, e can dig It out of the boxes
I Vrit;ng to R I ' --._ ..
CroWley h ut and MaY .QrJ ohn Dnley in 1982;
Daley adoffered a bizarre conspiracy theory.
B urlingl~pparenlly harbored hopes that, if
ll1inaledn sS oulhern Connector project was ter-
aToadi~~?meof the funds might be freed up for
B uthew I S area. Not likely, responded Crowley.
"\I , ent mUchfurther tban that
"atch I h ,
warned"'1'L . I S group from B urlington," be
, I I lCy
~PTOUted th ar~ th~ exacl same group tbat
hngtoono e seed which is nourishing in B ur-
connector w, They started under I he guise of I he
as a front. Their program worked so
o tl T 0
well in B urlington that they have apparently tar-
geted Rutland as B ernie S andersville number two."
. My, those B urlington "socialists" were tricky
indeed,
B
y 1988, midway through his fourth
term, S anders had his eyes on Congress.
"While il istrue," he wrote loa Newport Vermont
supporter, "that a Congressman is only one of
435, astrong Congressman saying things that few
others have the courage:o say could have a national
im~acl. Ultimately, the mOS I impcrtam questions
facing rhe nation, are being dealt with in Wash-
ington, It would be very interesting being there."
On the same day, during one of his regular
letter-answering sessions, he explained to a sup.
porter from Florida that, "While we have not
created utopia in B urlington, I think we have
made some significant progress."
Though he was already after a new prize, he
didn't completely neglect the local scene.
Management of day-to-day affairs might be main-
ly in the hands of Clavelle and L eopold, bUI the
broad vision still emanated from the mayor's
office. When the University Health Center
decided to restructure its hoard of directors, for
instance, S anders was quick to suggest that URC
put a consumer representative on the board, Or
when word filtered back about conflici between
the public works department and city workers, he
warned the commission that he would "nol
tolerate any department in I his city allempt1ng to
subvert the legal contract thaI we have with the
union."
He was also concerned about how his upcom-
ing marriage would affect his wife's employment.
J ane Driscoll, soon to become J ane S anders, was
director oI the cily's youth office. S he had created
the office and the job in 1981, beginning as a
volunteer, and developed it into a well paid con-
traCI position. William Aswad, a longtime op-
ponent of the mayor and currently a Democratic
Ward 4 alderman, was making nOI -so-subtle in~
quirics aboul her salary and status_ I n May 1988,
S anders asked City Allorney McNeil if th&city's
"anti-nepotism" rules would preclude his bride-
lo-be from conlinuing her work.
The answer was a clear no. Personnel regula-
lions were intended to limit thehiring of a relative,
not to prevent existing employees frombecoming
relalives or forcing them to lose tbeir jobs if they
did so.
"I ll conclusion, tbis orrice wishes you and
J ane a very happy marriage," wrole McN~il.
"This is the firsl time in nearly 20 years as CI ty
Attorney that I have been able to close a legal
opinion in this fashion."
c
I
M
uchmore could be found in the B er-
nie papers tban obscure resolutions
and minor exchanges between political rivals, B ut
it isn'l easy, in a few thousand words, t,osum up
eilher the significance of such a collecllon or tbe
change.'i that look place during S anders' four
terms, .
Even my cursory look, how~ver, mak~ I t
clear just how diverse and demandlOg was theJ ob.
S tarting with only a secretary, S anders had I ~
learn aboul nitty-gritty matters that ba~ rarely I f
ever crossed his mind prior to 1981. It I S a tesla-
ment to his stamina and commitment I bat he was
able to edllcate himself about sewers and I ra,sh
without losing sight of the vision tbat made him
such a compelling figure. .. .
His papers, like his ad~mlstrallon, reveal
troubling blind spots. EnVironmental matters,
local control, participatory management and al-
ternatives in areas like development rarely
received much more than lipservice. Researchers
will search in vain for S anders' though~s or ac-
tions on nuclear power, growth or pollu~l?n.
On the other hand, his was an ambI tious at-
h
e
I he rules of local government,
tempt to c ang , I
'ally sinceJ 'ust balding I berems of an umu y
especi , took all the
d often resistant government 0 ten
nfI n I S anders and the Progressives coul~muster.
e Of. h- mlOdwhen
Maybe the strain of it all was on I S
he issued onc of his more personal comments on
the'~:t~~O~11 so confusing," he told bis listeners one
d "And tben - life goes on back at
.summ~ . aY 'hereal world. Another farm disap-
home In . 'I "
Another parking lot I S bUl l.
pea~, roily breadwinners are afraid 10 speak out
a _ for fear of being fired, hc.lamented.
~ I h~;~~ phone and electric bills 10pay, and car
ey . "And it's summer lime, and
repairs to thmk aboul.
h
beach if the lake's not
maybe we'll get to I e,
ed"
pollut. . S ders" he concluded. "I I 's
"I 'm B erme an , ~
been a very long day at I he office. Thanks or
listening." , f
, book, The Penple's Republic a
Greg Guma S . '/I be
d the S anders Revq,lullon, Wf
Vermont a? k b the New England Press.
released ,hIS wee Y 1 3

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