A u g u s t So u n d s : Th e N-Zo n es an d Ot h er Ver m o n t Vi n y l

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VERMONT'S STATEWIDE WEEKLY
Man ag em en t A n d Pl an n i n g
In Ph as e Two Of
The S anders
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t was "1: 15 on a Thesday, and Bur-
lington M3)UI " Bernard Sanders, after
weeks of refusing to return telephone
calls, was keeping two reporters
waiting in the lobby of his office in
the largely deserted City Hall. Sanders
was meeting, he explained later, with a
man liI dng eviction from a Burlington
apartment.
Silting in on the meeting was newly
hired I I 1a)OraI assistant Gretchen Bailey,
lOr five year.; 'oermont Legal Aid's hous-
ing litigation expert.
Bailey's credentials are indicative of
the professional management approach
Sanders has pursued since shuI Ding
quasi-offidal Citizens' Assistance OfIicer
Richard Sartelle out of the administra-
tion: As an attorney with len }'e'dfS rep-
resenting poor people in criminal and
civil proceedings, and a master's in lOr-
eign service from Georgetown Univer-
sil): Bailey is expected 10 handle so-
phistlcared affitirsas the mayoral ambas-
sador and trouble-shooter;
Sander's first rerm was characterized
by political battles lOrsurviv.lJ : to appoint
his own advisors, elect political allies 10
the Board of Aldermen, and fund small
Sanden-backed programs Sanders' sec-
ond term is already characterized by
professional management, and an in-
creasing emphasis on statewide issues
like income lax reform, cappiog beairh
care COSL~, and fighling I elephone rate
increases ..
David C1avelle, city constable and
resident Sanders politlcal advisor, ob-
serves, "Now, it's definitely lime to have
an agenda; not that we didn't in the past,
bot now we've got I he people and the
budget"
I n addition, two-lime Uberty Union
gubernatorial contestant Sanders isonce
again openly discussing the possibiHl)'
of a future gubernarorial bid, saying if
he runs, he will run 10win.
So what does Sanders plan to do with
this new Economic Development Office,
with a new administrative assistant, a
newly empowered youth office, and a
dozen fiercely J oyal political appoint-
ees? What is the Sanders administralion
agenda lOr lhe next eighleen months,
until another ffi3}oral contest is upon
them?
I
f there's anything I h3\'Cto do right
now, it's to ensure that the incredi.
ble talent and energy of this admin-
istration is used to best advantage,"
Sanders S3l", "to push every memo
ber of this administration to their I imilS."
Sanders S3l" he likes to delegate re-
sponsibility to his aides, but he has lillie
time togive them overall direction. With
Bailey inplace, Sanders S3l" he wants to
meet more ofien with aides and appoint.
ees one-onone, and re-draw the lines
of delegation and communication within
City Hall.
"I beliC\'C we need a strong city gov.
ernment," Sanders s:w.;, leaning back in
his chair, with his reet propped up on
I he desk. "Part of the reason I asked
Gretchen [Bailey) on board is to be able
at)' Clerkjames Rader.
TA TI
B Y NEL SON HOCK ERT -L OTZ
10work on more long. range issues ...10
free me up from the nitty-gritty,"
The long-range issues he points to
are dl"\'Cloping Burlington's W'J terfront
while ensuring public access, and "revi
talizalion" of the North Street area.
Sanders S3l" these two projects are
crucial attempts 10 improve the C\'Cry-
day qoaJ ity of Iik in the city, the aI I too.
often negiected "human scale" of de
\'Clopment's impact on individual lives.
"Too often, those decisions are nOl
made by democratically elected oftidals,"
he says. "They're made byprivate money."
They are alsoglamour projects, ranking
high on the political scale, where indio
vidual projects can have an enonnous
impact on political futures.
~ter Clavelle, the recently appointed
head of Sanders' Economic Development
Office, S3l" the key to waterfront de
velopment - in which he notes private
investors and dl"\'Clopers may have 10
spend hundreds of millions of dollars - is
"to be cautious, while being bold."
While Clavelle S3l" he wants the pe0-
ple of Burlington to decide what sort of
dt."\'Clopment they want on the water
front, public input on the waterfront
will more likely be circumscribed by
questions of public access, park space,
boardwalks and marinas, No matter who
develops the waterfront, it will be high-
rent development.
Clavelle understands the problems of
gentrification in his plans to "reverse
disinvestment" in the Old North End,
where the Sanders administration wants
10encourage the mainteoance of the
neighborhood tamilies, while substan-
tially upgrading the economic environ-
ment t1ley live in. CI 3\'Clle, Bailey and
Sanders all jump to point to the King
Street neighborhood as an example
of neighborhood upgrading without
gentrification.
But the pinprick in their balloon,they
readily admit, is that the federal Treasury
continues 10 subsidize the landlords
cooperating in the King Street project,
providing the financial underpinnings
of its success. President Reagan has cUI
off hopes lOr similar urban windfJ lls in
the Old North End.
Clavelle says creati\'C solutions remain
and involve the relatively small sums of
dty and lederaJ monies 3\llilable lOrlend.
ing at subSidized rates 10landlords will-
ing to sign tenantretention clauses in
return lOr cheap second mortgages on
bUilding repairs. Another option is mak.
ing loans, or guaranteeing loans to coop.
erative tenant associations interested in ...
buying the buildings their rental units
are located in, Clavelle says.
C13\'Clle's strongest suit, however, in
upgrading the Old North End may be
his establishment of a positive business
climate along the North Street strip
and persuading lenders and the Small'
Business Administration that new bUSi-
nesses in the area arc worth financing.
The Sanders administration has already
taken two small SI (.1' toward "revitali_
zation" of the neighborhoods abutting
North Street, making a small house
painting/general appearance improve_
ment fund available to renters and home.
owners on North Street itself, and twisting
arms in the police department to pllt
two cops "on the beat" in the Old North
End, a move long endorsed by Sanders
and I ke I sley, a generally pro-Sanders
police commissioner who lives On
George Street
Clavelle will also be heavily involved
in selling Burlington "over the cow pas.
tures of Williston and Essex" as a rea.
sonable, amicable, and financially com.
petitlve location for manufacturers and
businesses seeking new homes, or space
to expand. He will be meeting with
University of\ennont officials to try once
again 10 force the university to lend a
hand, or some of its investment fund, to
the cause of housing base expansion, in
the face of enormous student pressure
on the city's apartment market. He says
he also wants to encourage the expan
sion of apartment rental space in under.
utilized downtown buildings - chiefly
second, third, and fourth floors over
commercial retail space.
C1avelle &1)'S he enjoys "the challenge,
and the pressure" of running the arnbi-
tious new program, bur cautions that
"process is as important as product" in
meeting the goals of the new Sanders
agenda.
l
aking development decisions
out of the hands of a few choscn
bureaucrats and monied interest~,
10 put the issues up for broad
public debate and input, is what
the Sanders administration is all about
Bot Sanders nOles, "it's a much more
difficult process, much more time
consumi ng. "
Yet Sanders, the opengovernment
mayor, has had journalists turned away
from meetings between cil)' officials,
Sanders backers, and outside interests
working on bringing minor league base-
ball to Burlington. Where former Mayor
Gordon ~J qoette frequently answered
his Own phone, getting to Sanders can
take days - Or longer.
Aldermanic Board President Allen
Gear notes that even city treasurer
J onathan Leopold has fuiled in his at
tempts toget Sanders to schedule Finance
Board meetings - where the tough
money decisions are usually made - at
a regular, set time. Leopold's interest,
Gear said, is primarily in settiog pre
paration deadlines for himsclf and his
staff, who give budgetary advice. San

ders, as chairman of the panel, has the

right to call the meetings whenever he
thinks he can get a quorum.
But "the public, and more important-
lj\ the aldermen," should have adequate
notice of the meetings, Gear said.
Reading off a list of meeting times-
Monday, before an aldermanic meeting:
Wednesday, Friday - in one particular
month earlier this year, he said, "you
can understand our frustration" at the
lack of a scheduled meeting time.
Lakesideneighborhood organizer J oan
Beauchemin also slams the mayor for
his recent walDing on the Sanders cam-
paign issue closest to her heart - stc'adfust
opposition to the Southern Connector
Now, she says, Sanders isbeing taken for
aride by the same downtown business
interests who enlisted Paquette's aid in
the fight for the connector highway.
Beauchemi n mai nt ai ns t hat hi st ory has
proven "downtowns don't do well on
connectors" which allow people to pass
through the downtown on their WdY to
suburban shopping malls.
"fur three years we have protected
Bernie Sanders, Maybebecause he'sdoing
SO well now we' can start to criticize
him," she said. "Bernie sometimes just
does. things, then tells people he's done
them ...We're missing links somewhere
i n commurucanon."
I
f I don't address the concerns of
someone getting kicked Out [of his
apartment), then I'm not being a
good mayor; and if Idon't work on
the long-range [development of]
the waterfront, then I'm not being a
good mayor," Sanders said, estimating
he works 60 hours a week now, and
could pOl in 200 hours aweek fulfilling
his own definition ofa "good mayor"
That's why he hired Bailey. That's why
he hired Clavelie, Brenda Torpe and
Michael Monte lOrhis n{~ d"",lopment
office. The man, say his lriends, is a
workallOlic. and he likes to get things
done. But, say his critics, he isdriven by
impulse and ambition, and is too easily
fruslfllted by the tiresome dt,plication
and redundancy of public administt:!-
t i on.
Tt'chnical assistance and administra-
tive backup were long overdue in City
Hall when Sanders took over the reins
of government Accordi ng t o S; : l nders.
Treasurer Leopold and Assistant Treas-
urer Barr Swcnnerf el r are st i l l worki ng
"night and day" to bring city linances
into the lauer half of the twentieth cen-
tury.
TI,e new S.mderssmfffulfiU the admin-
istflltive duties of their predecessors in
amore professional manner while tack
ling issues outside of what formerly had
been considered the mandate of their
offices. City Clerk J ames Rader, for
i nst ance, chai red a commi nce 0 set up
an emergency shelter last winter; it had
questionable results, but clearly was
something few tormer city clerks would
get involved in.
City Consmble David Clavelle is run-
ning a youth recreation project at
Assistant City Oerefeanne Kellerand MayorBernardSanders.
Northgate Apartments. Assistant City
Clerk J eanne Keller and Assistant City
Attorney J ohn Franco were instrumen-
t~inO~zing astatewide rally in Mont-
pelier to protest Snetlmg-proposed bud-
get cuts on the ('YC of the special leg-
islatne session, and tocall for de-coupling
of the state income tax from the federal
tax.
Keller taces a peculiar and telling
dilemma in managing her workload at
the city clerk's office. She is busy deal-
ingwith complaints, setling up an RS.V.P
program calling pet owners to notify
them of the new, stiff penalties for non-
registration of their pets. Sheisworking
on a history pamphlet on City Hall and
Ciry Hall P-dtk. And she is battling the
BlueCross/Blue Shield officials seeking
an increase in\"nnont he;~th insufllflce
" " dI es.
Asstate director of the Vermont Pub-
lic Interest Research Group (VPIRG),
Keller tried to recn'it a student intern
to do research on conllicts of interest
on the BClBS board of directors aspan
ofVPIRG's campaign to expand public
control of health care costs.
'"If I just did what the last assistant
ci'y clerk did, sure I'dfeel overqualified,,,
Keller said. "But I'm reforming cit)'
go\' crnm<: : nt ...and gi vi ng peopl e more
hang for their tax buck."
"I jusl wish I had more time to get
involved in Icable television and utilityJ
right-of way fees, and cable television
Ithe battlc with Cox Green MounL1in
Cable over public access, and explora
tion of public ownership through Bur-
Iinb'lon Electric]. where I have some
scholarly expenise," said Keller who
majored inbroadcast and film at StanIOrd,
and holds a master's in educational
television design.
&mders and Keller see the dty's inter
ests inthe same light, and issues alrecting
city taxes (such as higher health care
benefit packages lOr dty emplOjeCSwhen
insufllnce companies raise their rates),
or""," dty consumers (cable television),
should inspire the interest and diligence
of the Sanders adminlstration in the
community's behalf.
"It isabsolutely correct tilt the city to
take an i nt erest " i n st at e i ncome t ax
reform, Sanders says. "When I)ohn I
Franco works on tax reform, that iscity
business ...very important Citybusiness."
Auracung Keller, Franco, Leopold, the
Clavelles, Monte and others to the San-
ders adminstration has been an un-
heard-of admixture of ideology and
act i on.
" There \VJS a real exci t ement i n town"
after Sanders' election, says D-J YidClawlle,
which lured him from his job-as legisla-
tive aide and politic-.tJ technician with
USSenator Patrick Leahy. "But it wd.sn't
my dream to be city constable."
As anunsalaried citymnstable, Cla\elle
made about 526,000 last jear in com-
missions on delinquent taxes he col-
lected. And, he said, the job still pre-
sents challenges.
"My joh has changed a lot," CI"'elle
noted. "Iwa., here when there were
only three of us in City Hall. I WdS more
of anadministfllti,e aide then than Iam
now... not that I'mnot anj1l10re... bUl in
a much less degree."
Now, Cl"'elle 5a)'S, he's not sure just
what hi s rol e i n t he S; : mdersadmj ni st ra-
tion will be. He still remembers the
embattled early d:J )'Sfondly, when, as
civil defense direetor. he spent his time
working furiously to prepare the San-
ders adminislmtion budgets. first with
Lee Austin, then with the newly ap-
pointed Leopold.
Clavelie's original ~)bin City Hall has
since been essentially abolished - and
no one much misses the post of civil
defense director. But in that position,
Clavelle saved the city many times what
he earned, with along study which led
to the purchase of a modern City Hall
phone system.
Similarly, 'J reasurer Leopold took hun
dreds of thousands of city dollars OUlof
simple checking and savings accounts,
rationalized pension fund investment
polley, andgenerally put the ctry's money
to work in the capitalist investment
markets - and introduced competinve
bidding inthe purchase of city services.
Keller computerized the absentee bal-
lot requests, and gets volunteers work-
ing in the city's behalf.
I
n the mayor's office, distinl\Ui.shed
white hairs are peeking through San-
ders' rumpled gray mop. The major
says he is tired - and chafing at the
bit.
"There's an exhilaranon inha>ing \\00"
another election. he said. "But this is
t he most exci t i ng rear yet ."
"We not only have a better working
tdation.ship with theopposition, wehave
brought about red change."
The aldermen. while they still spend
a lot of time on "trivia" such as the size
of business signs, spend more time on
substantive issues than before his elec-
tion, he said. "If I have done nothing
else, and I think 1 have," Sanders said
the unprecedented number ofvoters in
mayoral elections and the new interest
in what is going on in Cit)' Hall repre-
sent accomplishments in themselves.
E\'Cnthe commissions are holding them-
selves substantially more accountable
to elected officials, he said, where "for a
long. long time the aldermen looked
the other way."
Sanders says this amounts to a "polit-
ical revolution" in Burlington, and aper-
sonal trial. "It has been agreat struggle...1
have aged many years in the last three
campaigns," including his election, re-
election, and mid-tern aldermanic efIOns
Still, Sanders isthinking about an even-
tual gubernatorial bid - mostly, he says,
'vith second thoughts.
"I h",'C friends around the state, but
lorgani7.ationallyJ we h"'" nothing," the
ma}or sai d.
"To build an 'entire political mO\'C-
ment oul of nothing ... out of 5 per-
cem ...would be an enormous under-
taking," he said, noting the difficult)' of
laying oUl stmtegies. organizing low-
iJ KOnlC,olunteers, and turning the stale's
tmde unions into political power hases.
'"It sounds likefun," Sanders quipped,
after describing the historical difficul-
lies - and the historical precedent a suc-
cessful hid would set. Serious"~ he said.
''I'd think twice about it."
Any gubernatorial bid, of course. is
some way down the road.
In the meantime, he will h",e to
address the concerns of those who h",e
supponed him - and those who want
more t i me, more concern, and morc
consultation than ",en the new Sanders
managerial administflltion has brought
to City Hall.
"Some people feel he has not at all
addressed his agenda lof his first two
yearsJ , that he's turned his back" on the
p'.'ople who eJ ected him, South End act
ivist Ile'duchemin said. "Other people feel
he's doing a great job administflllively
...and he needs more time."
"I ""ciliate between the two."
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