1981 Burlington mayoral election

The 1981 Burlington mayoral election was held March 3, 1981. The incumbent Democratic mayor, Gordon Paquette, lost to the future U.S. senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who won with 43.4% of the popular vote, with a margin of 10 votes, and assumed office on April 6, 1981. Paquette's loss of the election is attributed to his own shortcomings, as he did not campaign or promote his candidacy since both Sanders and Independent candidate Richard Bove weren't seen as a serious challengers, as neither Sanders nor Bove had previously won an election.[1] Paquette was also considered to have lost because he proposed an unpopular 65 cent per $100 raise in taxes.[2] After the first count was completed Sanders had a 22-vote lead that shrunk to 10 votes after a recount on March 4.[3]

Burlington mayoral election, 1981

March 3, 1981

Nominee Bernie Sanders Gordon Paquette Richard Bove Party Independent Democratic Independent Popular vote 4,330 4,320 1,091 Percentage 43.83% 43.72% 11.04%

Mayor of Burlington before election Gordon Paquette Democratic Elected Mayor of Burlington Bernie Sanders Independent

Initial results

Burlington mayoral election, 1981[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders	4,335	43.89
	Democratic	Gordon Paquette	4,313	43.67
	Independent	Richard Bove	1,090	11.04
	Independent	Joe McGrath	138	1.40
Total votes			9,876	100%

Final results

Burlington mayoral election, 1981[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders	4,330	43.83
	Democratic	Gordon Paquette	4,320	43.72
	Independent	Richard Bove	1,091	11.04
	Independent	Joe McGrath	139	1.41
Total votes			9,880	100%

References

1. "IT'S NEW POLITICS VS. OLD IN VERMONT AS MAYOR STRIVES TO OUST ALDERMAN". March 2, 1982.
2. Margolis, Jon (March 15, 1983). "Bernie of Burlington". The New Republic. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
3. "Burlington, VT Mayor".