Mayoralty of Bernie Sanders
served as the 37th Mayor of Burlington, Vermont, from April 6, 1981, to April 4, 1989. Sanders' administration was the first socialist one in New England since the mayoralty of Jasper McLevy. He was regarded as a successful mayor that instituted multiple economic policies in Burlington, and was selected as one of the twenty best mayors in the United States by U.S. News & World Report in 1987. He was active in foreign affairs, primarily in Latin America in which he criticized the policy of the United States and visited Cuba, Nicaragua, and the Soviet Union, and was criticized for it by his opponents.
During his early tenure, Sanders feuded with the city council and other municipal leaders before forming a coalition of supporters in Burlington's government over the course of his tenure through local elections. During the 1982 elections, enough pro-Sanders candidates won seats in the city council to allow for vetoes made by Sanders to not be overridden by the city council. After the 1984 elections, Terry Bouricius, a progressive, became president of the city council. The pro-Sanders members of the city council lost a seat after the 1986 elections, but later regained a seat after the 1987 elections.
When Sanders left office in 1989, Bouricius, a member of the Burlington city council, stated that Sanders had "changed the entire nature of politics in Burlington and also in the state of Vermont". Future South Bend, Indiana mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg stated in his 2000 winning essay to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum that Sanders was a "successful and popular mayor".
Tenure
was inaugurated as the 37th Mayor of Burlington, Vermont, on April 6, 1981, after defeating incumbent Democratic Mayor Gordon Paquette. Sanders was the first socialist mayor in New England since Jasper McLevy, who served as mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, during the 1940s and 1950s. He left office on April 4, 1989, and was succeeded by Peter Clavelle, one of his allies.Approval
In 1983, a poll conducted with 400 respondents reported that 62% approved of Sanders' mayoralty while 21% disapproved and 17% were undecided. Sanders had an approval rating of 70% among voters below the age of 35 while having a 51% approval rating among voters above the age of 36. Sanders had a disapproval rating of 11% among voters below the age of 35, and had a 36% disapproval rating among voters above the age of 36. Regarding income, Sanders' approval rating was highest among voters who made less than $30,000 per year. However, the group making more than $30,000 only had 3-5% less approve versus other brackets, and he still held a 65% approval rating among them. Ideologically, 5% of voters considered Sanders a conservative, and 70% considered Sanders a liberal.In 1984, a poll conducted with 208 respondents and which had a 9% margin of error reported that 56.7% approved of Sanders while 26.9% disapproved and 16.3% were undecided.
Another poll conducted in 1984, with 321 respondents showed Sanders with a 67% approval rating. Among party affiliation he had a 77% approval rating and 10% disapproval rating among Democrats, a 64% approval rating and 13% disapproval rating among independents, and a 58% approval rating and 24% disapproval rating among Republicans. Based on household income, people with $0 to $10,000 had a 68% approval rating and 8% disapproval rating of Sanders, people with $10,000 to $30,000 had a 70% approval rating and 17% disapproval rating of Sanders, and people with over $30,000 had a 65% approval rating and 19% disapproval rating of Sanders.
Peter Diamondstone, the co-founder of the Liberty Union Party which Sanders had been a member of during the 1970s, criticized Sanders for his endorsement of Walter Mondale during the 1984 presidential election and referred to him as a Quisling.
In 1987, Sanders was selected as one of the twenty best mayors in the United States by U.S. News & World Report alongside William H. Hudnut III of Indianapolis, Indiana; Jerry Abramson of Louisville, Kentucky; Raymond Flynn of Boston, Massachusetts; Richard Caliguiri of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Richard Green of Rochester, New Hampshire; Steve Carlson of Jamestown, New York; George Voinovich of Cleveland, Ohio; George Latimer of St. Paul, Minnesota; Henry Maier of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Coleman Young of Detroit, Michigan; Joseph P. Riley Jr. of Charleston, South Carolina; Richard Arrington Jr. of Birmingham, Alabama, Henry Cisneros of San Antonio, Texas, Raúl L. Martínez of Hialeah, Florida, Tom Bradley of Los Angeles, California, Terry Goddard of Phoenix, Arizona, Charles Royer of Seattle, Washington; Robert M. Isaac of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Don Peoples of Butte, Montana.
City government
Following his victory in the 1981 election Sanders faced difficulties with the city council of Burlington, Vermont, due to eleven of the thirteen members of the board of alderman opposing Sanders. The council would oppose measures proposed by Sanders and override his vetoes on legislation.Sanders criticized the city council after they voted eight to three to fire his personal secretary which he stated was an insult to the mayor's office. Sanders later reached a compromise with the city council, wherein he could rehire his personal secretary. Sanders stated that it was "an absolute insult" when the city council voted to delay debate on his proposed 25¢ tax increase.
On June 1, 1981, the city council voted eleven to two to reject all of Sanders' non-reappointments except for the appointment of Henry Allard as fourth constable. Sanders filed a lawsuit against the city council after it rejected four of his nominees, but the lawsuit was thrown out of court by Chittenden Superior Court Judge James B. Morse. Sanders later unsuccessfully appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court. On April 12, 1982, the city council voted to approve Sanders' appointments of James Rader as city clerk, Jeanne Keller as assistant city clerk, and John Franco Jr. as assistant city attorney.
Sanders stated on December 31, 1981, that Burlington's Voter Registration Board's challenge to the residency of students who lived in dormitories was "pathetic" and "anti-democratic" and that the Republican and Democratic parties were being discriminatory against third parties. A lawsuit was filed against the Voter Registration Board and Sanders stated that he would testify against the board. He walked out of a city council meeting after the city council voted to have Joseph McNeil, the city attorney, defend the voter board. However, Sanders later reversed his decisions and stated that he would not testify in the case nor would he veto the city attorney defending the voter board, but would instead file a written memorandum.
During the 1982 elections three of the six pro-Sanders candidates won city council seats, allowing for vetoes made by Sanders to not be overridden, and two others were forced into runoffs that they were defeated in. This brought the total of pro-Sanders members of the city council to five. However, the Republicans and Democratic members of the city council united to select Robert Paterson, a Republican, as president of the city council instead of Sadie White, a Sanders supporter, by a vote of eight to five after six ballots and to prevent the pro-Sanders members of the city council from receiving positions. Sanders stated that "Probably the Democrats feel more comfortable dealing with the Republicans than with us". The composition of the city council was maintained after the 1983 elections.
In 1982, a three-page letter, signed by the heads of ten city departments, accused Sanders of usurping their power by talking directly with city employees, establishing advisory committees, and failing to consult with department heads on the city budget. Sanders stated that the department heads were "threatened" by his style of governance and that he would "apologize to no one".
During the 1984 elections the pro-Sanders members of the city council gained one seat from the Democratic Party bringing the composition of the city council to six pro-Sanders members, five Republican members, and two Democratic members. During Sanders' tenure as mayor only one progressive, Terry Bouricius, served as president of the city council from 1984 to 1985. The composition of the city council was maintained after the 1985 elections. William O. Skelton, a Republican, was elected in 1985, to serve as president of the city council and replace Bouricius.
The pro-Sanders members of the city council lost a seat to the Democratic Party in the 1986 elections bringing the composition of the city council to five pro-Sanders members, five Republican members, and three Democratic members. Although the pro-Sanders faction of the city council lost one seat they retained enough seats to uphold vetoes made by Sanders. The pro-Sanders members of the city council gained a seat from the Democratic Party in the 1987 elections bringing the composition of the city council to six pro-Sanders members, five Republican members, and two Democratic members.
Domestic policy
Sanders criticized President Ronald Reagan's budget cuts as "brutal" to poor and working-class people and that his cuts were causing "incalculable amounts of suffering". Sanders criticized the Vermont General Assembly in 1983, for not enacting progressive tax reform stating that the legislature was a joke and that "instead of a progressive tax system, they are talking about lowering the tax on corporations and increasing the taxes on potato chips". Sanders presided over a group of other New England mayors in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1985, during the writing of a resolution criticizing Reagan's proposed budget cuts towards domestic programs.Sanders supported Vermont Housing Authority Deputy Director Richard Williams' policy of bringing the agency to Burlington to aid low-income people in rental assistance. Following his reelection in 1983, Sanders established the Community and Economic Development Office to aide in the development of affordable housing, more local small businesses, and greater community engagement. Sanders signed an agreement with the Bank of Vermont in 1984, making $1 million available for housing improvements.
Sanders proposed a $6.8 million budget for Burlington in 1982, which saw a $200,000 increase in building permit fees revenue and provided for substantial improvements in city services if a city rooms and meals tax was passed. The city council voted against allowing a nonbinding ballot question on the city rooms and meals tax. However, the question was included alongside two other proposed tax increases, but all three tax increases were defeated in the election. Sanders proposed the city room and meals tax again, but the city council voted seven to five against it.
In 1983, Sanders proposed $14.7 million budget, greater than the $12.6 million operating budget used in 1982, which proposed to use $1.7 million in capital improvements and a 2¢ reduction in property taxes, which was less than the 10¢ reduction proposed by Sanders during his mayoral campaign. The city council approved his budget.
The first pride parade was held in Burlington in 1983, and was supported by Sanders. In 1985, Sanders signed a city ordinance preventing housing discrimination against gay people, welfare recipients, elderly, and disabled. Amber LeMay, the founder of the House of LeMay, stated that “From what I understand, didn’t do anything specific for the gay community," and that Sanders “just treated them like he treated everyone else. He gave opportunities and the gay community took him up on them.”
Sanders joined the picket line of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America during their strike in Windsor, Vermont in 1983. Sanders called for employees of the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont to organize into a labor union in 1987, to improve their working conditions and quality of healthcare.
Sanders proposed a $22.8 million budget in 1987, which called for a $5.3 million increase in education funding, a personal income tax for those making more than $60,000, and an increased corporate income tax.
An arts council was created by Sanders in 1981, using volunteers and donations. It was given city funding in 1983, and was later reformed into a city department in 1990. As of 2025, it has 19 employees and a budget of $3.4 million.