[O]ne of the ironies of Bernie Sanders’ political career is that when he ran for mayor of Burlington, he would struggle for support from his neighbors.
For most of his tenure as the Queen City boss and later as a congressman, Sanders lived on a quiet dead-end street in the New North End, a suburban section that is the city’s most politically conservative. (The only Republican representing Burlington in the Vermont House is Kurt Wright, who lives in the New North End.)
The area — redistricted last year — was called Ward 4 in the 1980s when Sanders was mayor. It was by far the biggest ward, accounting for at least a quarter and sometimes a third of the total city vote. Campaigns lived or died depending on the Ward 4 numbers; even when the other five wards had already reported, everyone hung on the tally from the New North End.
In Sanders’ campaigns for mayor, his strategists felt that if he could hold his own, or even be slightly behind, in the New North End, he could make up the difference by winning the other sections of the city, especially the inner-city wards.
In his four winning mayoral runs, Sanders lost badly three times in the New North End, including in his final run in 1987, when he cruised citywide to a 10-point victory. Two years earlier, his supporters knew he’d won that election the moment the Ward 4 results were announced and Sanders and his closest competitor had literally tied. (Sanders has always run as an independent before this presidential run, where he is seeking the Democratic nomination.)
Tuesday morning, many of Sanders’ former neighbors from his days on Killarney Drive turned out at the polling place closest to his old home — St. Mark’s Youth Center on North Avenue. Sanders has since moved less than a mile away and across North Avenue, the major road that splits the New North End.
The turnout included old-time residents, first-time voters and an African man who said Sanders was critical to his son being able to join him in Vermont. Some considered him a family friend; others had seen him only in passing; some had never met him.
Jim Wick said he’d lived in Burlington for decades and voted for Sanders during his mayoral days. He voted in the Republican primary for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who Wick said was “moderate and well-behaved.”
Wick also praised Sanders.
“Bernie’s doing a good job. I respect him for running. He’s got a long uphill battle, but he brings out a lot of very, very good points,” Wick said.
Issakha Kounta beamed when talking about Sanders, saying he had “a very, very big thing for him” after the senator helped secure a visa for his 13-year-old son to join him from Senegal in western Africa.
“I would like to meet him and thank him,” said Kounta, who became an American citizen last year.
Colleen Gallagher moved to the New North End three years ago and has never met Sanders either. She said she was voting for him because “he has integrity, and we don’t see a lot of that in candidates these days, so I’m happy to support him.”
Two of those voting early at St. Mark’s were Emer Feeney and her 18-year-old daughter, Esseluna, a first-time voter. They consider Sanders a family friend.
“I want the future that I live in and the future that my children live in to be equal for everybody, and I think he’s the candidate that has consistently worked for the people to be working together rather than torn apart,” said Esseluna.
She said Sanders advanced women’s issues better than his rival Hillary Clinton, that “despite her gender I feel like he’s actually representing us in a way that’s more sustainable and more like what we actually want.”
Asked about her first time voting, she said: “It was really cool. It was really exciting. I felt like I was doing something really important.”
Her mother said she was excited her daughter had voted “but we need to make the democratic system more democratic.”
Bill Bouvier said he was voting for Sanders because of the senator’s opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which is blamed for ushering large amounts of unregulated money into elections. He recently moved to the New North End after living near downtown Burlington for 25 years.
“I think he’s absolutely dead on about the power of money in politics, and I think it’s critical that we make some change,” he said.
Not everyone was a fan of Sanders. Former Democratic Rep. Susan Wheeler said she supported Clinton because “she’s bright and I believe she’s capable.”
Asked about Sanders running, she said: “That’s his choice, but it’s mine not to vote for him.”
Linda Ayer lived three doors away when Sanders, his wife, Jane, and their family lived in one of the one-story Killarney Drive homes for decades. She is worried about Citizens United and income inequality, a signature issue of Sanders.
“The man has integrity,” she said.
