why i'm running | vanguard press | may 18, 1986

8/11/2019 Why I'm Running | Vanguard Press | May 18, 1986

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BernieWith t;~elong-anticipated announcement

of his run for governor, Burlington's MayorBernie Sanders says he is taking on more

than Governor Madeleine Kunin and Lt.

Governor PeterSmith for the state's highest

office. In an interview conducted shortlyafter his "official" announcement on theStatehouse lawn, Sanders spoke with theVanguard Press editorial board-Editor

Joshua Mamis, Associate Editor Gail E.

Hudson and Co-Publisher Nat Winthrop-about his reasons for challenging an in-cumbent Democrat during the only time

in the history of Vermont that the Demo-crats control the State House.

Sanders believes his candidacy will be

the cutting edge of a new,grassroots politicalmovement in this country. It will prove to

the disenfranchised voters-the POOrj theworking class-that there is an alternative

Sanders'

quest for a

grassroots

revolution

to politics as usual with the Democrats

and Republicans.

During our interview, Sanders also de-fended his record on environmental and

women's issues. The substance of that de-bate has been omitted from the followinginterview for lack of space. However, we will

be returning to these subjects and more in

our coverage of the gubernatorial race in

the next few months.

Vanguard: Running against a relatively

popular Democrat in a traditionally Repub-lican state, the odds are against you winning.Why are you running for governor?

Sanders: ....Weare looking at a world wherethe two super powers are poised againsteach other with nuclear weapons. We'relooking at a world where hundreds ofmillions ofpeople arestarving to death while

other people have hundreds of millions of

dollars. I think that in just talking aboutthe phenomenon of war itself, it's clear thatunless there is a radical rethinking of thewhole concept of politics, there is going to

be a nuclear war.... World War I II coulddestroy the planet ....

There's got to be a radical rethinking ofhow we relate to other nations, and there'sgot to be a radical rethinking of the whole

political process ....Itis very clear to methat almost all of the leaders in the

Republican and Democratic parties arerunning away from what the r e a l i s s u e s a r e .

Probably ifI look back and ask, 'Whatare the results that I'm most proud of' 1 ' . . .There are many things. But after all is said

and done, what I'm most proud of is thalwe have doubled the voter turnout: thatwe've opened the doors of political activity

continued on page 6"


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SANDERS:continued from page 1

to far more

people than was ever the case

before... .'The only way you re going

to have a decent humanesociety isifpeople stand upfor themselves and fight forit.... The overwhelming ma-

jority of poor people don't

vote, ... They've given up onthe process. The most important thing that we cando is to bring people outwho say, 'Hey, this is mystate, my country. This is

the world I want to protectand live in, and I'm goingto have an impact on it:

When you [say] that Gov-ernor Kunin is popular, Ithink the popularity is notvery deep. In other words,she does very well on tele-vision. She has an excellent

press secretary. But I thinkwhen you look at whether or

not people are excited andthink the governor is fightingthe fights that have to befought, I honestly don't

believe that's the case.I wouldsaythatifI become

governor, you can measure

my success or failure on howmany new people-which in-

cludes young people, poorpeople, working people-are

involved in one way or an-other in the political process.Vanguard: You talk a lot

about global issues. Whyare you run ning for a state-

wide office instead of US

Congress?Sanders: Obviously, it goes


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SANDERS:

-econtinued from page 6

home rallying? ...Ifyou havemarches on Washington that

governors are leading. wheregovernors are saying, 'We

do not want our kids beingkilled in Nicaragua. Stopthis insanity: that's the wayyou're going to turn Wash-

ington around.Vanguud:Doyouthink

that's what Vermonters wantfrom you as a governor?

Sanders: I'll tell you that

in six months . .. . One of thedebates that we've had inthe past in Burlington is theconservatives saying, 'Hey,Bernie. Don't worry so much

about the national scene,the international scene. payattention to what happenshere in Burlington: So whatwe fin d out is that we lose amillion dollars in revenuesharing in order to fund StarWars. We lose a half milliond o ll ar s f o r a D u m b e r o f h o us -

ing programs in order to fundthedestructionofNicaragua.Yo u cannot ignore the moun-tains on the national andinternational scene. ...

That does not mean to saythat the governor does notspend the hulk of his or hertime paying attention towhat's happening in the state.But not to take a leadershiprole in turning around theinsane national priorities ofthe day is an ahsolute ab-

dication of responsibility.Vanguard: And you thinkthat Governor Sanders inthe small state of Vermontwould have an impact onnational policy, more thanCongressman Sanders?

Sanders: Absolutely. Let'slook at the city of Burl-ington .... Do you think that

ifwehad not fought Reagan'spolicies on Nicaragua, helpedorganize a shipment ofgoodsto Burlington's sister city,do you think that that hasnot had an impact on theconsciousness of the peopleof the state of Vermont? ..!think that if a governor is

able to create a strong feelingthat the people in at leastone state are sick and tiredwith the drift toward nuclearwar [then that will] have animpact on our neighbors in

New Hampshire, Maesachu-setts and New York.

IfI'm elected governorand you think this won't

have national significanceyou are very mistaken. Thewhole structure of the po-litical system today is be-tween the Democratic andRepublican parties. TheDemocrats are bad and theRepublicans are worse inmany instances lalthough

there are many exceptionsto that scenario). We can

show there is a third option,where you can have indepen-dence, where you can havea governor and members of the legislature-and we'llbe running candidates for

the legislature-speakingout for the rights of working

people, poor people for sanenational priorities. for peace.

This is going to scare thehell out of the politicalstructure of this country.Their hope is that peopleremain apathetic. remain

resigned. The Democraticparty will be main tamingthe belief that, 'Gee, therereally is no option. The bestyou can get is GovernorKunin, and you should behappy for that:

Vanguard: How do youconvince your borderlinesupporters, the middle-of-

the-road D emocrats or m o d -erate progressive-Demo-crats, that a vote for youisn't a vote for LieutenantGovernor Peter Smith?

Sanders: First of all, themedia, in general, has vastlyoverestimated the numberof liberals who have been

tortured by this question.The fact of the matter is thatamong upper-class liberalswe are not going to do well.

I think the governor willget a lot of support fromthose people. ...

(But] what I think ordinaryVermonters want is the right

and the freedom to vote forthe candidate who best re-flects their interests .... Solet's give up on voting forthe lesser of two evils. All Iask is that people don't votefor somebody who theydon't feel that good aboutover someone they believein. That's the wasted vote.

Vanguard: You made theanalogy between what youdid in Burlington in 1981and what you think you cando now in the state. Don'tyou think you need to lookat the wall you ran intoagainst the Board of Alder-men and the city commis-

sions and what you mightbe up against in the StateHouse, facing much greateropposition?

Sanders: Number one, wereally can't predict how thelegislature will react.

Vanguard: You can lookat how they've reacted toyou in the past.

Sanders: Ifyou want tolook at how they [acted] lastmonth what you'll find isthe legislature, by a two-to-

one vote in the House and afour-to-onevotein the Senate,supported what may con-stitute some of the mostradical changes in tax policy

in the history of Vermont ....Obviously, I can't predict

how I'll work with the legi-slature.But ... it would havebeen inappropriate for menot to run for mayor in 1981

because I would have op-position from the Board of

Aldermen. I t would be in-appropriate for me not torun for governor because Imay have opposition in the

, legislature.

I will be as clear as I canabout what I believe to bethe major issues facing thestate. In fact, I'll put it on

a big blackboard. I'll say,'Number one: property tax

reform. We're going to moveon it. And we're going tosolve it within the next

month ....Number two: utilityrates. The structure of the

Public Service Board is go-ing to represent the rate-

payers and not the wealthy

corporations . .. ."Vanguard: What lessons

did you learn from yourbattles with the legislature?

Sanders: One of the nicethings about thelegislature,it is not a hardened body of

people. Some people don'thave the vaguest idea of what

is going on, some are verysharp. Bu t I think that youcan still sit down and talkto people and convince peoplethat what you're doing isright. And I don't think Ihavedonethatenoughinthepast, to be honest with you ....And the second part is I've

learned that you get what youwant by being persistent ....Vanguard: What will hap-

pen to Burlington's Pro-

gressive Coalition after thecampaign?

Sanders: 'IWo points.Number one: I have felt formany years for us to be sue-cessful in Burlington we aregoing to have to spread themovement out beyond thecity of Burlington. We needmore support statewide. . ..Clearly what I have beenvery upset about is getting

things passed in Burlingtonthat were not being passedin Montpelier. What happens

when [you have] a progressivecity administration and aconservative state govern-

ment? That's a real problem.Ultimately, we are not goingto besuccessful in Burlingtonunless there are changesstatewide.

Number two: We have

raised enormous issues interms of what a city can doand we are going tocontinuedoing that. We are very ex-cited about the agenda we'reworking on now. But clearly,there have got to be radicalchanges in Montpelier if we

are to do what we need to doin Burlington and what hasto be done all around thestate .

why i'm running | vanguard press | may 18, 1986

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