T H E C H O I C E

' W A S C L E A R
B E R N I E T A K E S
B U R L I N G T O N
By Jeff Good
F
orBurlington Democrats,
theend camequickly, bet
not painlessly. Ina base-
ment restaurant juS! sec-
onds awayfrom the office
that might 11m<: been hers, judy
Stephany maintained abroM: front
last Thesday night, mingling and
laughing with party moguls. Her
red-rimmed eyes told a diJICr-
ent tale,
Bedraggled bUI obviously
pleased, Bernie Sanders lum-
bered into thegathering shortly
after 10p.m. After mumbling a
lew words 10Stephany, hequickly
left. ABSanders walked OUI the
door, one member of the old
guard stuck out his longue.
"I'm disgusted," said Terry
Feeley, Stephany's campaign
manager. '" don't think people
realize whal they've got," sbe
added.
But got him they do, and the
Democrats andRepublicans can
only watch as the Mayor and
other members of the city's
newest political establishment
gear up for rapid movement on
issues new and old. The water-
front and southern connector
were cited by Sanders as prior-
tries at apost-etecuon news con-
fcrence Wednesday. City Treas-
urer Jonathon Leopold,jr. added
that Sanders will push for using
federal dollars to begin COnSlrUC-
tionon 100 units ofmoderarely
priced bousing by spring. Also
in the works is a plan 10 lure
businesses, Leopold said, which
could include tax breaks. San-
ders has also pledged 10 name
women commissioners, and gen-
eralIygive women's issues more
attention.
The fate of these and other
lnitianves will hinge on the
cooperativeness of theBoard of
Aldermen, which Sanders claims
repeatedly stonewalled him
during his first term, Although
Tuesday's election changed
some of the faces, the board's
overall make-up remains the
same, FiveSanders supporters
C o8I U o...., _ JN I p S
Bernie and the be-
lievers bask in the
mandate 1I<estlay
night.
ConIiluuJtl.fr- JMp 1
sit on the 13member council,
as do five Democrats and three
Republicans.
There will be more of a"spirit
of cooperation" this term, San-
ders insisted. The fact that 52
percent of the record 13,320
voter turnout supported himwill
force the city council to grow
more receptive, he said. S tephany,
who many observers predicted
would seriously challenge the
incumbent, only mustered 3 I
percent of the rote, with Repub-
lican)im Gilson picking up the
remaining 17 percent.
Sanders aides hope Maurice
Mahoney (DWard I)will prove
open to overtures. Although a
liberal by city Democratic stan-
dards, Mahoney fiercely op-
posed Sanders during much of
the mayor's first term. But there
is speculation that Mahoney wiU
adopt a more conciliatory ap-
proach in order to build a base
of support for apossible future
bid for Sanders' seat.
Diane Gallagher, the newly
elected Republican alderwoman
from Ward 6, is also mentioned
as apotentially sympathetic ear.
"I will not say I'm anti- Bernie,
pro-Bernie or anything else," said
Gallagher, who works as a real
estate agent at the Pomerleau
Agency. She will rote On each
issue according to the wishes of
her constituents, she said. "I'm
just a voicebox fur the people
ofmyward."Whileroters inthe
generally aJ Iluent ward gave Gal-
lagher a clear victory over Inde-
pendent Huck Gutman and
Democrat Brian Uoyd, they en-
dorsed Sanders by a wide mar-
gin over the second place vote-
getter Gilson.
Many members of the city's
two traditional parties appear
less flexible, saying the]' will con-
ti nue to oppose many of the
Mayor's efforts. "Had voters
wanted his ideas implemented
with a rubber stamp, then they
would have given him the alder-
men to do it with," said Alder-
man WiU Skelton (R-Ward 4).
Because they didn't, he contin-
ued, it is the board's duty to
"keep his ideas in check."
S anders and his team remain
ready to play political hardball.
"lfwe have to, we'll run the city
bJ l referendum," said Peter Lack-
owski, newly elected Citizens
Party alderman fromWard 3. ''If
they won't deal with us, then
we can turn to the people of
Burlington and ask them to reo
affirm that mandate," thebearded
woodcutter said.
The last few weeks of the
campaign saw large quantities
of political mud being slung. At
debates, the three candidates
traded ever-sharper verbal barbs.
A group dlling itself the Bur-
Iington Small Business Commit-
tee took out full page ads inthe
Free Press depicting empty busi-
ness buildings and implying that
Sanders was responsible fur their
vacancy. Carl Capra, owner of
Carbur's restaurant and treasurer
of the group, admitted that many
of the buildings were vacated
before S anders-took office, and
that sluggish economic condi-
tions are a "factor;"
In what she termed a "last
gasp" attempt to stir anti-Sanders
sentiment, Gilson campaign
manager Kathleen McGreevy
designed afull-page ad warning
of the future implications of San-
ders' socialist philosophy. "The
campaign was dying, absolutely
dying," she said Tuesday night.
Although it would be difficult
to gauge what effect the ad had,
McGreevy said that 55,000 in
contributions poured into Gilson
coffers after it appeared.
Gilson, rejecting charges that
he played dirty politics, main-
tains he ran a clean campaign.
"Over and over and over again
we talked about the issues," he
said, looking chipper as sup-
porters milled about his Col-
chester A"". BigBen's pizza par-
lor Tuesday.
Not aU members of the busi-
ness community share Gilson's
fear that Sanders' attitudes and
policies harm their enterprises,
and keep others from locating
here. Dennis Morrisseau, owner
of Leunig's Cafe, said he sup-
ported the incumbent because
he brings "a breath of fresh air
to this town."
lfSanders represents abreath
of fresh air, his clear victory
reflects amajor shift in the city's
political power base. In addition
to the poor and elderly who
appreciate Sanders' concern with
their needs, alarge chunk ofthe
Sanders vote - and aneven larger
portion of the volunteer staff that
helped stimulate that rote - are
members of what sociologists
refer to as the "new class."
Members of the new class
range from professors and stu-
dents to salaried professionals
working in medicine, law, Orhigh
technology industries. But they
have a common trait: they gen-
erally don't own businesses, are
well-educated, and believe that
CfmIha"." _ JMp6
BBRME:
It'olIIlMPS
idealists should shape the polit-
ical landscape - not business
owners.
The rise of the new class in
Burlington's political arena cor-
responds to the jump inthe
number of}{lunger people and
renters. Ofthe38,000 city dwel-
lers, 47 percent are between the
ases of l~3I}l,l34. SaidElizabeth
Bernstein,iJ .J )emocratic School
Board mc;mber who supported
Gilson, ''The Sixties finally hit
\bmont" with the inllux of per-
sons who grew up in that dec-
ade andstill want to"shake things
up" through Sanders. .
While the city's DemocratiC
P arty has traditionally been run
by the older property own~rs
W hose politics often clash WIth
those of the }{lung liberals, .36-
)'ear-old party Chairman Brian
B rennansaid Thesday that 'the
D emocrats will ha\e to lurebad<
20- to 30-year-olds ifit isever to
_'ft ''1bat is the ener-
-..........power. "h
lI)I that is the new ideas. e
said, sipping abeer "W e're bar-
ren without it."