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8/11/2019 Mission: Possible | Vanguard Press | Mar. 4, 1984
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TOWN MEETING '84/HARD TRAVELIN' WITH WOODY GUTHRIE~
... the vermont
In198J Bernie Sanders squeaked to ~
power promising change. Threeyears later, the residents of Burling.
ton have gotten what they've askedfor The Sanders Administration has
revamped city government Its record
of financial prudence, rejuvenating theOld North End and recruiting new busi-ness ventures through itsnew Commu-nity and Economic Development Office,is virtually a revolution for a dry gov.ernment fomlerly lazy, uncreative. and
most of all. unresponsive tocommuniry
activists.
Ifyou listen to the fears emanating
from Ory Hall, Town Meetin!! Day on
Tuesday. March 6, could change all that"What people must understand," 5a}"
Sanders. " is if
there is not support forthe Board of Aldermen, none of lourl
initiatives would get through. Ifwe 10'""
veto power. we lose S O percent" ofthe
power of the administration. "Fifty per
cent of what we lare able tol accom
plish will be gone."
111e Progressive Coalition, a tightly
knit group of Sanders supporte,.", is
doing L"Vcl)1hingin its power to makesure that doesn't happen.
Just as the Sanders Administration has
streamlined city government, bringing
t up to the modem age, so the Pro
gressive Coalition is updating the carnpaign process. Certainly in the era bdilre
Sanders stunned the Democ ..dtic ciry
powerbrokers, aldermanic candidates
VERMONT'S STATliWIDE WEEKLY
I N: P
Will progressives have
the same impact on theSchool Board thatthey've had on the
Board of Alderm en?
BY STEPHEN WA RD
1""engaging tales about edu-
cation are heing written beforeBurlington voters go to the polls
Tuesda\'.
The 'first is a multi-media ad-venture story told by SCh
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ALDEIIMEN:
e-...."....tr-IMP1COmpete with each other over taking
credit for many Sanders initiatives.
Alan Dalton, for instance, the blind
D
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8/11/2019 Mission: Possible | Vanguard Press | Mar. 4, 1984
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sion of the waterfront. The Democrats
call the Alden Waterfront Corp's plan a
"sell-out," charging that the shoreline is
land that belongs to a "public trust" and
that the Sanders administration is Jet-
ting developers have their way with the
citizens' land. The Progressives counter,
of course, that it was the Democrats
who endorsed Tony Pomerleau's previ-
ous plan of erecting multi-story condo-
m i n i um s i n t h e s a m e s p ac e .
It's ironic that the Democrats have
seized on the waterfront as "their" issue
for it was Bernie Sanders' opposition'
to the earlier - and Democratically
backed - plan that brought himto power.
And the Democrats do have some seri-
ous concerns. fur instance: What about
the traffic in and out of the area, ques-
tioned Palm at one of the Cox Cable
debates, wondering how the develop-
ment, as planned, would affect Lake
Champlain Transit's ferry business.
But virtually all the candidates agree
that the development of the waterfront
will be a major windfall for the city of
Burlington.
They also seem to agree - the Demo-
crats more than the Republicans - that
alternatives to the property tax should
be found. However, those who oppose
the Sanders administration argue, such
alternatives should be 'fair" and "legal."
So when the argument turns to the
excavation fee proposal currently under
discussion by the Board of Aldermen,
Republicans and Democrats agree with
the concept, and argue simply that the
fee is too high, and too much money
will come out of ratepayers' pockets.fur the Progressive Coalition, though,
the proposal is its third attempt to re-
lieve the pressure on the property tax-
payers' shoulders, which would also have
a trickle-down effect on the city's renters.And so fur each proposal - the gross-
receipts tax and the utility right-of-way
fee - have met w ith stonewalled re-
sistance from the opposing party's board
members. No action has yet been taken
by the board on the excavation fee plan.
In fact, many Democrats and Republi-
cans seeking seats next Tuesday, did
advocate raising property taxes further
in order to address city problems such
as police protection, the poor sewers,
and, of course, the streets and schools.
Both a school tax and street repair tax
are on the Town Meeting Day ballot.
Republican Skelton, perhaps, expres-
ses that viewpoint most succinctly. In
the future, he says, "it's going to cost us
more to enjoy the services we use today.Iprefer the property tax because it has a
circuit-breaker built into it," he says,
citing the state's Property Tax Relief
Program. Skelton supports raising the
property tax for increased revenues, he
says, because "right now it's one of the
only legal ways we have to do it."
No issue beller symbolizes the Pro-
gressive Coalition's'drive for a majority
on the board than the concept of find-
Illg alternatives to the property tax. It is
the one major area where Progressives
have sti II made no headway, apart from
the new tipping fees at the landfill
(whIch did not require aldermanicapproval).
" If w e h ad ju st one of tho se tax
p'lOpos.1.Is,"says the Ward 3 incumbent,
we'd be in a lot beller shape."
It is the so-called "Sanderisms," says
DeCarolis, who have consistently comeup Withnew ideas: the Land Trust, whichwould help renters buy the houses they
And George Thabault looks Iikc hecould be the perfect candidate to pull
off the upset.
Jim Burns is campaigning On"rrying
to prevent Bernie anders from gelling
an extra seat," says Thabaulr, who
works at Gardens fur All, only a few
blocks from where he Ii\es on South
Winooski Avenue. "It's a lillie bit of a
slap at the voters. IHe's saying the voters]can't see the candidates and what theystand fo r ."
Bums sees the election as similar to
his race against Beauchemin - as a refer-
endum on the Southern Connector
highway."If they send a Southern Connector
opponent to the board," argues Burns,
"this mal' be seen as a message to the
state" that the City does not want the
road."And the city will get stuck With a
million dollar" debt.
Thabault, a Southern Connector op-
ponent, also sees housing and zoning
regulations as a major issue in his ward.
"Burlington has a limited amount of
developable space," says Thabault, "andin the South Endw e need this industrial-commercial zone. We need a base .of
employers and employees. A key issue
in the future of Burlington is which
kind of housing arc we going to have?
"Almost anything you build will getrented," Thabault continues, "so the
sruffJOUbuild must be of utmost quality.
The ciry's new Champlain Apartmentsare an affront to the people." Thabault
blames the Board of Aldermen as owners
of the land for the development. The
city "could have stipulated what kind of
development they wanted."
Thibault claims he has a1wJjs opposed
the project, and even cited it as one
issue where he would have voted againstthe Mayor - who favored the plan - had
he been on the board. Burns, though.
charges that his opponent wrote him
two letters at the time "congratulating"
him on his handling of the project.
Thabault says that he objected to
theOld Champlain School deseloprnenr. and
believes the city would have instructed
the developer to better meet the needsof the community.
''What he's talking about is the new
Champlain School. As I recall, I apprec-
iated his efforts and seeing him prevent
the School Department from selling the
land," says Thabault.Bums also S3)s, "When JOU look at
Ward 5 as far as housing goes, we've
done a pretty credible job," citing the
King Street area, a pre-Sanders project,
and the recent Bobbin Mill, Champlain
School and Golden Place projects.
Thabauit, who considered vying
with Burns in the Democratic caucus,
is treading carefully where allegiance to
the M ayor is concerned in the rela-
tively conservative ward. The mayor.
thinks "there is a third party brewing in
Burlington," says 111abault, disagreeing."Why create another party to pelpet-
uate those myths? It's wasted energy.
"Other people Will work with the
Ma)Qr on an issue to issue basis," S