Qualla: Burlington: Vermont's Lakefront City Where Bernie Became Mayor

Burlington: Vermont's Lakefront City Where Bernie Became Mayor: Introduction

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0. Bernie Sanders won the Burlington mayoral race in 1981 by 10 votes, defeating a five-term incumbent. The young socialist's upset victory - in Vermont's largest city, a lakefront town of 40,000 dominated by the University of Vermont - launched a political career that would eventually reshape American progressive politics. Burlington itself shaped Bernie: a college town that was already liberal, a small-enough canvas that a coalition of students, working-class residents, and progressives could actually win. The city Sanders governed for eight years - expanding affordable housing, supporting the waterfront, encouraging local business - became a laboratory for democratic socialism. Burlington today remains the city Bernie built on foundations laid by others: beautiful, progressive, expensive, proudly different from the rest of America.

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Image: Farragutful | CC BY-SA 4.0

Burlington: Vermont's Lakefront City Where Bernie Became Mayor: Bernie's Burlington

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jared and Corin, CC BY-SA 2.0. Bernie Sanders arrived in Vermont in 1968, part of the back-to-the-land movement that transformed the state. He ran for office repeatedly and lost - governor in 1972 and 1976, Senate in 1972 and 1974 - before focusing on Burlington. His 1981 mayoral victory was narrow (10 votes) ...

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Image: Jared and Corin | CC BY-SA 2.0

Burlington: Vermont's Lakefront City Where Bernie Became Mayor: Lake Champlain

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger), Public domain. Lake Champlain defines Burlington's eastern boundary, 120 miles of fresh water stretching from Quebec to New York. The lake was once believed to contain a monster - 'Champ,' Vermont's answer to Nessie - first reported by Samuel de Champlain in 1609 (or so the legend claims). The ...

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Image: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) | Public domain

Burlington: Vermont's Lakefront City Where Bernie Became Mayor: Church Street

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0. Church Street Marketplace was one of the first successful pedestrian shopping streets in America when it opened in 1981 - coincidentally, the year Bernie became mayor. The four-block brick promenade, closed to cars, demonstrated that downtowns could compete with suburban malls by...

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Image: Beyond My Ken | CC BY-SA 4.0

Burlington: Vermont's Lakefront City Where Bernie Became Mayor: College Town

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 3.0. The University of Vermont, founded 1791, dominates Burlington - 12,000 students in a city of 45,000. The campus occupies a hillside overlooking downtown and the lake, its oldest buildings dating to the mid-1800s. UVM's environmental programs, medical school, and general liberal-a...

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Image: Ymblanter | CC BY-SA 3.0

Burlington: Vermont's Lakefront City Where Bernie Became Mayor: Green Mountain Gateway

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0. Burlington International Airport (BTV) lies three miles east of downtown, a small but convenient airport with connections to major hubs. Amtrak's Vermonter train connects Burlington to New York via the Connecticut River valley (scenic but slow). Church Street and the waterfront a...

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Image: Mwanner | CC BY-SA 3.0