Speaker A
You're really an inspiration to failures everywhere. Yes, we are. We ended up in Burlington right at the time that Bernie was starting his political career, first as Mayor of Burlington in the ‘80s.
Explore Bernie Sanders' early political career as Burlington mayor and his impact on local business and public access to waterfront development.
Key Takeaways
- Bernie Sanders prioritized public access to natural resources over private development.
- He supported local businesses and economic development through pragmatic policies.
- His early political success was unexpected but impactful for Burlington’s community and economy.
- Bernie’s management skills helped make Burlington a well-run and admired city.
- The video challenges misconceptions about Bernie’s stance on business.
Summary
- Bernie Sanders began his political career as Mayor of Burlington in the early 1980s.
- He won the mayoral race by a narrow margin of ten votes against an entrenched Democrat incumbent.
- One of his first major issues was preventing the privatization of Burlington's Lake Champlain waterfront.
- Bernie fought developers all the way to the state’s top court and won, ensuring public access to the waterfront.
- He promoted local purchasing and supported cultivating local businesses rather than attracting multinational corporations.
- Bernie established the Community Economic Development Organization to support local economic growth.
- Contrary to some perceptions, Bernie was very supportive of business with a practical and pragmatic approach.
- He was an effective city manager who made Burlington a model city admired by others.
- The video highlights the intersection of Bernie's political policies and their positive impact on small businesses like Ben & Jerry's.
- The discussion provides historical context on Bernie’s early leadership and its lasting effects on Burlington.
Chapters
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Let's talk about that. What was his platform in those days, if you can remember, and what difference did his policies make to a small business like yours?
Speaker A
Bernie was running against the entrenched establishment political machine Democrat incumbent who had been there. Bernie ran, to everybody’s surprise, he won by ten votes and became Mayor.
Speaker A
We're talking 1981, was it, ‘80 – ‘81? Yeah, and probably Ben could tell you better. One of the early issues there was around development of the waterfront at Lake Champlain which, prior to Bernie coming there, the idea had
Speaker A
been that it was going to be sold to developers. They were going to be having high-end condominiums and the public was essentially going to be shut out.
Speaker A
Bernie came in as Mayor and started talking about this idea of public access that nobody in Burlington had ever heard of before. Essentially, what he was saying was that the waterfront of Burlington belongs to all the people of Burlington. We shouldn’t allow it to become
Speaker A
privatized and sold to these developers. He ended up fighting the developers all the way to the top court in the State and he won. Today, we have the most beautiful public waterfront in Burlington that's open to everybody.
Speaker A
Public access was one thing. Another thing that I think he was very early in talking about was local purchasing, buy local, cultivating local businesses as opposed to trying to bribe outside multinationals to come in.
Speaker A
Yeah, Bernie established the Community Economic Development Organization which was responsible for that. It's funny because people outside of Burlington and Vermont have this idea of Bernie as not supportive of business. Yet, that's not true at all. Bernie has a very
Speaker A
practical and pragmatic approach. He's a very good manager. He made the city run really well and if you look at Burlington now, it is the envy of other cities.
Topics:Bernie SandersBurlingtonMayorLake Champlainpublic accesslocal businessCommunity Economic Development OrganizationBen & Jerry'swaterfront development1980s politics
