Bernie as mayor

[Fresh_Start]

Our slogan was we would ‘out-Republican the Republicans,’” said John Franco Jr., who was assistant city attorney in the Sanders administration. “The Republicans on the board liked that, and so on fiscal issues, they would side with us and we would have a governing coalition.”Over the span of his mayoralty, the number of families living in poverty grew — to 798 in 1990 from 563 in 1980, an increase of 42 percent.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/26/us/politics/as-mayor-bernie-sanders-was-more-pragmatic-than-socialist.html

[George II]

1. I am shocked, really shocked!!

[Fresh_Start]

2. he was worried about taxes and local control back then

no so much today

[Still In Wisconsin]

5. Well, sure, Mayors have to balance a budget every year.

Presidents, not so much.

[Still In Wisconsin]

3. Wait, you're telling me everyone in Bernie's town didn't get a free pony and ice cream for life?

Next thing you will tell me, I won't get free college for my kids, free health care, and my mortgage paid off. And no free Porsche?!!?

That's it, I'm resigning from the "revolution."

[TwilightZone]

4. So much for "no compromise ever"

Granted, this was decades ago, but it's kind of ironic in light of how Sanders supporters react now to anything remotely related to working with Republicans.

And, wait...were those good Republicans or bad Republicans? I thought that the former was an oxymoron.

[krissey]

6. I knew this, hence the hypocrisy I have watched for five years.

[Donkees]

7. ''The story is told through a distorted lens, questioning and undermining Bernie's reputation.''

Recently, The New York Times published a piece called “As Mayor, Bernie Sanders Was More Pragmatist Than Socialist,” about Bernie’s time as leader of Burlington. The story is told through a distorted lens, questioning and undermining Bernie’s reputation.

Hints of bias are dashed here and there, a subtle attack— a withholding and twisting of the truth.


She drops in this line—

Over the span of his mayoralty, the number of families living in poverty grew — to 798 in 1990 from 563 in 1980, an increase of 42 percent.

—while conveniently leaving out the fact that these were the Reagan years and people across the country were struggling.

From The New York Times,

But while the rich got much richer, there was little sustained economic improvement for most Americans. By the late 1980s, middle-class incomes were barely higher than they had been a decade before — and the poverty rate had actually risen.

Contrary to what’s implied, it was not Bernie’s leadership or policies that increased poverty, but the economic situation of the entire country.

Bernie put into place policies that lowered housing costs, kept prices affordable for working families, and set up a system that citizens would reap benefits from for years to come.

From The Nation/HuffPost—

Burlington is now widely heralded as an environmentally friendly, lively and livable city with a thriving economy, including one of the lowest jobless rates in the country.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/1/1454937/-Spreading-The-Truth-About-Bernie-Mayor-of-Burlington

[floppyboo]

9. Also recently read he inheritted a huge tax deficit

Seems the previous Dem mayor, in order to assure his re-election hadn't raised taxes in 3 terms or so. Bernie did alot to fix that.

This is a really great article in the Atlantic. Truly worth the read if you want to get a better understanding of future president Sanders.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/bernie-sanders-mayor/407413/
Bernie Sanders, the Socialist Mayor

A profile of the presidential candidate written in the 1980s, as he got his start in politics

[Fresh_Start]

11. Bernie won because he said he would raise taxes less than his opponent...that is so rich

Sanders did not win his narrow victory in March 1981 by saying he would municipalize the banks, expropriate the homes of the wealthy, or disarm the police. He didn’t even propose opening the Lake Champlain shoreline to the public. What he did was, he said he would raise property taxes less than the incumbent. It worked. The voters overwhelmingly turned down Mayor Gordon Paquette’s proposed 65 cent (per $100 of assessed value) tax increase. Sanders said 25 cents would be enough, and the voters bought it.

They are also happy that, in the time-honored tradition of mayors facing an election, Sanders just “discovered” an additional $1.9 million in city funds that had previously been unknown. Politically, this is a convenient thing to do just before an election. Fiscally, it may not be so convenient. By Sander’s own admission, the city is desperately short of revenue in the long run, and according to the way state law is generally interpreted, the property tax is the only local revenue source.

https://newrepublic.com/article/122285/bernie-burlington

[Fresh_Start]

13. he created the deficit

The voters overwhelmingly turned down Mayor Gordon Paquette’s proposed 65 cent (per $100 of assessed value) tax increase. Sanders said 25 cents would be enough, and the voters bought it.

By Sander’s own admission, the city is desperately short of revenue in the long run, and according to the way state law is generally interpreted, the property tax is the only local revenue source.

https://newrepublic.com/article/122285/bernie-burlington

[Fresh_Start]

14. by 1980...Burlington and Chittenden County were in excellent economic shape.

your article...your source

[Fresh_Start]

10. census statistics show poverty rate in vermont decreased over that time

1980 12%
1981 12.3%
1989 8%

so it wasn't across the board...it was in the town Bernie was the mayor of.


https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-people.html

[Donkees]

8. Beyond Bernie 4. Burlington's Socialist Mayor

May 9, 2018

The 1980s introduced Ronald Reagan and his conservative politics to the nation. But in true Vermont fashion, the state’s biggest city swung to the left voting Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed Socialist, into the mayor’s office by a mere 10 votes. Since then, Burlington has been a bastion of progressive politics setting an example for the state and the nation.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. Lol.