How would a Bernie Sanders presidency revitalize America?
His mayoral legacy in Burlington, VT, offers a host of clues. In the 1980's, Bernie's visionary leadership transformed that city from a stagnant economic and cultural backwater into an economically vibrant and culturally dynamic community.
I watched him do it.
When I moved there in 1979, Vermont's Queen City seemed more like a downtrodden chambermaid.
The urban renewal craze struck Burlington in the 1960's. By the time the bulldozers finished leveling a 27-acre ethnic neighborhood between the downtown and the waterfront, the homes for 157 families, 67 individuals and 47 businesses were gone. The void left by the loss of this neighborhood contributed to a stagnant aura that enveloped the city and bore silent witness to the empty promises of affordable housing made by the city fathers and their developer-accomplices.
The Urban Renewal craze in the 1960's wiped out this working class neighborhood forever changing the face of Burlington
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Furthermore, the Old North End, the waterfront along Lake Champlain and other areas in the city were depressing and shabby.
1980: Burlington's waterfront - it was ugly!
(Image by Photo by Harry Orth, in the collection of Special Collections, Bailey-Howe Library, University of Vermont) Details DMCA
After four terms of Bernie's leadership, the transformation of the waterfront was on its way to completion. On May 26, 2015, Bernie officially announced his candidacy for president from this park.
1991: Burlington's Waterfront Park - on its way to beauty
(Image by Photo by Harry Orth, in the collection of Special Collections, Bailey-Howe Library, University of Vermont) Details DMCA
By the time Bernie Sanders left office in 1989, the city was thriving.
Thanks in large part to Bernie Sanders' visionary leadership as mayor, Church Street, Burlington's 'Main Street' continues to flourish today.
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The 1980 census had counted 37,712 residents in Burlington. As a college town, it was home to The University of Vermont (UVM), and three small colleges, Burlington, Champlain, and Trinity. It was also home to a large working class. UVM and its adjacent medical center were the largest employers. Tourism contributed to Burlington's economy and there was light manufacturing on the outskirts of town and near the waterfront.
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