# 1981 Burlington, Vermont mayoral election

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Elections in Vermont :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1792
1796
1800
1804
1808
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1791
1794
1796
1796 sp
1797 sp
1800
1801 sp
1802
1806
1807 sp
1808
1809
1812
1814
1817 sp
1818
1818 sp
1821
1825
1827
1831
1833
1833 sp
1837
1839
1842 sp
1843
1845
1848
1850
1854 sp
1855
1856
1861
1862
1866
1866 sp
1868
1872
1874
1878
1880
1884
1886
1890
1892
1892 sp
1896
1898
1900 sp
1902
1904
1908
1908 sp
1909 sp
1910
1914
1916
1920
1922
1923 sp
1926
1928
1931 sp
1932
1934
1934 sp
1938
1940
1940 sp
1944
1946
1946 sp
1950
1952
1956
1958
1962
1964
1968
1970
1972 sp
1974
1976
1980
1982
1986
1988
1992
1994
1998
2000
2004
2006
2010
2012
2016
2018
2022
2024
2028
U.S. House elections
1791
1793
1794/95
1796/97
1797
2nd sp
1798
1800
1802/03
1804/05
1806
1808
1st sp
1810
1812
1814
1816
1818
1820/21
1822
1824
AL sp
1826/27
1828/29
1830/32
1831
2nd sp
1832
1st sp
1833
1834
5th sp
1836
1838
1840
1843
1844
1846
1848
1849
3rd sp
1850
1852
1854
1856
1858
1860
1863
1864
1866
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1923
2nd sp
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
AL sp
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
AL sp
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
State government
General elections
2002
2004
2006
2008
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
Gubernatorial elections
1778
1779
1780
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
2026
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
2022
2024
Attorney General elections
2022
2024
Senate elections
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot measures
2022
Proposal 2
Proposal 5 :
Burlington
Mayoral elections
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2006
2009
2012
2015
2018
2021
2024 :
vte :
The 1981 Burlington mayoral election was held March 3, 1981. Bernie Sanders, who ran as an independent candidate, defeated incumbent Democratic Mayor Gordon Paquette, who was seeking a sixth term as Mayor of Burlington, Vermont, and Richard Bove.
Paquette had easily won reelection to the mayoralty in the 1973, 1975, and 1979 elections and the Democratic Party controlled ten of the thirteen city council seats. Sanders ran in the election due to the amount of support he received in Burlington during his 1976 gubernatorial campaign. Bove initially ran as a Democrat, but became an independent after losing in the primary to Paquette. The Republican Party did not field a candidate and the Citizens Party endorsed Sanders after failing to run Greg Guma. Sanders initially led Paquette by twenty-two votes, but his total vote lead was later decreased to ten votes following a recount.
Sanders' victory was the first time a socialist was elected mayor of a jurisdiction in New England since the election of Jasper McLevy as mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut during the 1950s. Sanders would later be reelected as mayor in the 1983, 1985, and 1987 elections before being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1990 and then the United States Senate in 2006.

## Background

Gordon Paquette, a member of the city council, won election to the mayoralty of Burlington, Vermont, with the Democratic nomination in the 1971 election. Paquette was reelected as mayor in the 1973, 1975, 1977, and 1979 elections with him taking over seventy percent of the popular vote in each election except in 1977. After the 1980 elections the Democratic Party controlled ten of the thirteen city council seats.

## Campaign
### Candidates
#### Democratic

Paquette announced on January 6, 1981, that he would seek reelection to a sixth term. Richard Bove, a former member of the Burlington Board of Alderman and a member of Burlington's Fire Commission, announced on January 16, that he would seek the Democratic nomination for mayor against Paquette. Bove's decision to run was inspired by discontent with Paquette's raise of taxes, as well as a perceived lack of benefits from Burlington's "urban renewal" projects. Paquette defeated Bove for the Democratic nomination by a vote of 133 to 19.

#### Republican

The Republican Party did not run a candidate in the 1979 mayoral election, after unsuccessfully asking former Chief of Police Robert G. Abare and state Representative Theodore M. Riehle III to run.

#### Other candidates

Bernie Sanders announced on November 8, 1980, that he would seek the mayoral office and formally announced his campaign on December 16, at a press conference in city hall. Sanders had been convinced to run for the mayoralty by Richard Sugarman, an Orthodox Jewish scholar at the University of Vermont, had shown Sanders a ward-by-ward breakdown of the 1976 Vermont gubernatorial election, in which Sanders had run, which showed him receiving 12% of the vote in Burlington despite only getting 6% statewide. Sanders selected Linda Niedweske to serve as his campaign manager. The Citizens Party attempted to have Greg Guma run with their nomination for mayor, but Guma declined as it would be "difficult to run against another progressive candidate". The party did not run a candidate, instead endorsing Sanders.
After losing the Democratic primary, Bove announced that he would seek the mayoral office as an independent candidate. Joseph McGrath, a retired building superintendent, also filed to run as an independent candidate.

### Results and demographics

Though The Burlington Free Press had projected that Paquette would win by over thirty percentage points, Sanders was elected mayor at the March 3 general election. He was initially declared the victor by a margin of twenty-two votes over Paquette, but the lead was later reduced to ten votes after a recount. His campaign spent around $4,000. Paquette did not contest the results of the recount. On April 6, Sanders was sworn in as Mayor of Burlington, becoming the first socialist mayor in New England since Jasper McLevy in Bridgeport, Connecticut during the 1940s and 1950s.
Paquette's loss of the election was attributed to his own shortcomings. He did not actively campaign, as he did not consider Sanders and Bove serious challengers, with Sanders having never previously won an election. Paquette was also considered to have lost because he proposed an unpopular 65 cent per $100 raise in taxes that Sanders opposed. There was also a significant student population in Burlington caused by the University of Vermont ending the building of dormitories in 1972.
Murray Bookchin and his friends supported Sanders and Bookchin claimed that Sanders won due to "ten anarchist votes" and that he personally knew those voters.

## Results

1981 Burlington, Vermont mayoral election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Bernie Sanders | 4,330 | 43.83% | +43.83% |
| | Democratic | Gordon Paquette (incumbent) | 4,320 | 43.72% | −54.98% |
| | Independent | Richard Bove | 1,091 | 11.04% | +11.04% |
| | Independent | Joseph McGrath | 139 | 1.41% | +1.41% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,880 | 100.00% | |

### Results by ward before recount

| Ward | Sanders | Votes | Paquette | Votes | Bove | Votes | McGrath | Votes | Total votes | Votes |
| Ward 1 | 44.33% | 516 | 43.30% | 504 | 11.43% | 133 | 0.95% | 11 | 100.00% | 1,164 |
| Ward 2 | 53.29% | 616 | 30.97% | 358 | 14.79% | 171 | 0.95% | 11 | 100.00% | 1,156 |
| Ward 3 | 49.08% | 639 | 35.18% | 458 | 13.13% | 171 | 2.61% | 34 | 100.00% | 1,302 |
| Ward 4 | 36.69% | 1,045 | 48.10% | 1,370 | 13.52% | 385 | 1.69% | 48 | 100.00% | 2,848 |
| Ward 5 | 41.75% | 610 | 43.60% | 637 | 13.35% | 195 | 1.30% | 19 | 100.00% | 1,461 |
| Ward 6 | 43.07% | 609 | 48.51% | 686 | 7.36% | 104 | 1.06% | 15 | 100.00% | 1,414 |

## Endorsements

Statewide officials
* Philip H. Hoff, Governor of Vermont (1963–1969)
Newspapers
* The Burlington Free Press
Individuals
* George Albee, Professor of Psychology at the University of Vermont and former President of the American Psychological Association
* Huck Gutman, Professor of English at the University of Vermont
* Richard Sugarman, Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Vermont
Organizations
* Burlington Police Patrolmen's Association
* Citizens Party