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grant "variances," or exemp-

tion. from local zoning ordi-nances, to small developers...It's almost the exception tothe rule when a variance isn'tgranted." Lopping said, He rec-ommended that Gov. RichardSnelling'. order. which re-quires consideration of theagricultural impact of any

state-sponsored constructionprl>ject, become law. The lawshould be administered by theAgriculture Department ratherthan the Executive Depart-

ment, he said.Lapping urged a hard-

headed and realistic appraisalof the state's environmental

problems. "The idea that thisis Vermont Life country is onethat we should keep denyingbecause it's unhealthy," hesaid, He pointed out that Ver-mont's population has clearedthe 500.000 mark and that itnow has a "real city" within its

borders. At the same time,Vermont has the third lowestper capita income in the na-tion: "We don't live in aGrandma Moses painting," he

said.Marion MacDonald

Bernard Sanders

S a n d e r s A n n o u n c e s C o a l i t i o n t oS t a g e M a y o r a l C a m p a i g n

BURLINGTON

B ERNARD SANDERS

announced his candidacyfor mayor of Burlington

last week, saying he believesthe average citizen, ratherthan real estate developers and

other city power brokers, must

determine the future of Bur-lington.

As mayor. Sanders said hewould involve more workingpeople and youth on comrnis-sions that determine city poli-

cy. "These commissions too

often reflect the needs of special

interest group s," he said. Andhe cited as campaign issues the

Southern Connector highway,

the proposed l8story condo-

minium water front develop-

ment, and the $77 million Med-ical Cen ter Hoa pital of Vermont (MCHVl expansionall of which he opposes.

"I will totally oppose anymore urban development proj-ects which benefit the real

estate developers and their al-lie. at the expense of the ordi-

nary citiz~n and taxpayer,"Sander. said.

"Ifpresent trends continueand if Mr. Paquette. Mr. Porn:

erleau and Mr. Pizzaga llj, etc.

have their way, Burlington will

become a city studded with

$150,000 condominiums, $500

a month rental units. Radisson

Hotel. and fancy boutiques.

Under this type of urban de-

velopment mentality there will

be no place in the future of this

city for the people of modest

income who, unfortunately,

constitute the vast majority ofour population," Sanders

said. "These people are simply

going to be squeezed out of this

city a. they have been for thelast number of years."

Instead of high priced con-domini urns, Sanders said he

would like to see the construe-tion of large numbers of mod-erate and low income housingunits "to begin to deal with themajor housing crisis we arefacing." The 39-year old politi-cal veteran, who has lived here10 years. said he also supports"legal controls" over landlords

who raise rent excessively orevict tenants arbitrarily, city-wide property tax reassess-ment and reform, and im-

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Continued from page 7

proved salaries for cityemployees.

Sanders said he would like tosee the city tax structure over-hauled so "those individualsand institutions who own val-uable property ... assume theirfair share of the tax burden."Reassessment would "bring inconsiderably larger sums ofmoney from downtown Bur-lington than at present - low-ering the tax burden on home-owners, Uhe said.

Noting that the MCHV ex-pansion project is"tangential"to city affairs but would in-

velve him as mayor, Sanderssaid he was strongly opposedto the project and to the tax-exempt status tbe Medical

Center and University of Vermont have enjoyed to date.

"The Medical Center, which

wants to spend $77 million onan expansion project ... doesnot have the money. apparent-ly, to pay anything (to the cityof Burlington) in lieu of taxes.We Question the wisdom, equi-ty ordecency of having low in-come homeowners supportingthe needs of wealthy institu-tions such as the University of

Vermont and MCHV," San-ders said. ,..

The Medical Center expan-sion plans are unresponsive tothe actual health and financial

concerns of city residents, hesaid. ulf we are concernedabout the real health of ourpeople, rather than Mr. Pizza-gaiii's bank account, then $77million must be spent on pre-

ventive health care, housingand the development of pro-ductive jobs, not for the expan-sion ofa hospital which iscon-trolled by the major business

elements of our community,"Sanders said.

Sanders is running as amember of the IndependentCoalition, which plans to runcandidates for "virtually everyseat on the Board of Aldermen

and School Board." Ward fourRepublican Dick Sartelle hasannounced his candidacy forAlderman on the IndependentCoalition ticket and John Bart-

lett, also of Ward four, will bea candidate for the Scbool

Board.In order to have his nameplaced on the ballot, Sandersmust obtain -srgnatures of 5percen tof the registered votersin Burlington. According toCity Clerk Frank Wagner, whowill make the petitions availa-

ble January first, about 1,400signatures will be needed. Thepetitions are due back in thecity clerk's office by January26.

-Debbie Boohchin