Bernie.org
Title
Sanders, Bernie for Senate
Description
About Bernie
On January 3, 1991, when Bernie Sanders was sworn in as Vermont’s sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives, history was made. Sanders became the first Independent elected to Congress in 40 years. He has since been re-elected seven times and is the longest-serving Independent in the history of the House of Representatives.
Before being elected as Vermont’s lone Congressperson, Sanders served as the first Independent Mayor of Burlington from 1981-1989. In his four election victories he defeated Democrats and Republicans and, in 1987, defeated a Democrat backed by Republicans. As Mayor, Bernie helped make Burlington one of the most exciting and livable small cities in America. Under his administration the city made major strides forward in affordable housing, progressive taxation, environmental protection, childcare, women’s needs, youth programs, the arts and in creating a people-oriented waterfront. The Sanders administration also created sister-city programs in the former Soviet Union and Nicaragua. Politically, with Sanders as Mayor, Burlingtonians created the Progressive Coalition that became the third political force in the city. The Progressive Coalition became the forerunner of the Progressive Party of Vermont, currently the state’s third party.
In 1986, Sanders ran for Governor of Vermont. He lost, but his 14 percent was, up to that point, the highest vote for a non-Democrat, non-Republican in modern Vermont history. In 1988, he ran for Vermont’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and lost again in a nail-biter. The winner, former Republican Lieutenant Governor Peter Smith, received 41 percent of the vote while Sanders, an Independent, received 38 percent and the Democratic candidate Paul Poirier received 18 percent. The importance of that election was that Sanders put to rest the so-called “spoiler” argument, having received far more votes than the Democrat. In 1990, Sanders ran for Congress again. This time he won, defeating Smith by 16 percentage points. The Democratic candidate came in a distant third.
