[B]URLINGTON — Mayoral candidate Carina Driscoll is embracing her family relationship with Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Driscoll, who had previously identified herself as Sanders’ “stepdaughter,” appeared in a new campaign ad with the Vermont senator that ran on Facebook and Instagram, calling herself his “daughter,” and saying she is one of the many people inspired by Sanders.
Driscoll, a former city councilor and state representative, is running for the city’s top job as an independent against fellow independent Infinite Culcleasure, a longtime community organizer, and incumbent Democrat Miro Weinberger, who is seeking a third term. Election day is March 6.
As the mayor’s race has unfolded, Driscoll said in an interview, her campaign has found that not enough people know who she is. Using her relationship with Sanders was a way to make that connection, she said.
“We have a very short period of time for the people of Burlington to understand who I am and what my positions are,” Driscoll said. “It’s a huge part of who I am.”
The comparison between Sanders and Driscoll is well-founded, she said, because even though Sanders ran the city as mayor in the 1980’s, many of the issues the city faces remain similar.
“I can’t point to some way that I would significantly run the city differently than Bernie did,” Driscoll said. Affordable housing especially remains an issue, she said.
Sanders has for a long time called Driscoll his daughter, and she said she has switched between calling herself his daughter and stepdaughter for some time. Driscoll is one of three children born to Jane Sanders through her first marriage.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve made some shift, I’ve always gone back and forth,” Driscoll said.
She said such a focus on the family relationship is unfair. During the recent presidential campaign, surrogates of Hillary Clinton claimed that none of Sanders’ grandchildren were his own, something that Driscoll termed an “offensive and ludicrous” attack.
Now, several commenters on Facebook are saying that Driscoll is not really Sanders’ daughter.
“That does not respect all the different kinds of families we have,” Driscoll said.
Driscoll had previously sought to run a campaign with some independence from the long political shadow Sanders cast.
“I expect to receive the support of my parents that anyone would expect to receive from their parents, but not as a politician,” she told VTDigger in December when asked whether she would leverage the political network Sanders built.
She said she was not going to seek the backing of Sanders’ formidable fundraising apparatus — likely through the senator’s “Our Revolution” national progressive organization, created after his unsuccessful 2016 run for the Democratic presidential nomination — however that support came anyway.
Our Revolution announced its support for Driscoll late last month. The endorsement came after the local progressive group and local chapter of Our Revolution Rights & Democracy endorsed Driscoll in late December.
Our Revolution has already kicked off its support, sending out a fundraising email Tuesday morning asking supporters for a $5 contribution to Driscoll’s campaign. However, she said her campaign is not coordinating with the national outfit.
“From the outside looking in,” said Driscoll, “it may appear by the fact that Our Revolution sent an email this morning, that all of the sudden this means that we are tapping into significant support.”.
“It’s just not true,” she said. She applied for and won the Rights & Democracy endorsement. The group then had her complete a questionnaire, she said, which led to the Our Revolution endorsement. But her campaign isn’t banking on much support, financial or otherwise, from Our Revolution.
Sanders’ shadow is also affecting Driscoll’s campaign through the outsized level of media attention the name brings, she said, expressing frustration that reporters seem to be focused too much on her relationship with Sanders.
“I feel like if I want coverage I have to put Sanders in the subject line,” she said.
“We’re trying to get the word out about things that matter to people who live here, and the reporting has not been on that,” Driscoll said.