Burlington ballad of Peter, Paul & Mayor, The

Regardless of which candidate finishes first in Burlington's March 7 mayoral election, the business community seems certain to be a winner.

The three main contenders -- incumbent Republican Peter Brownell, Progressive former mayor Peter Clavelle, and Democratic City Councilor Paul Lafayette -- are competing over which of them is friendliest to business. The candidates' records and plans concerning economic development constitute the main issue in the race.

All their talk about public-private partnership marks a big change from the early years of Bernie Sanders' mayoralty, which ran from 1981 to 1989.

A decade ago, the political momentum was with those who wanted business to shoulder a larger share of the tax burden. In the current campaign, the emphasis is on finding ways to stabilize, or even reduce, the portion of revenues collected from companies and merchants.

Sanders used to suggest that at least some members of the business class were not meeting their social responsibilities. Today, the three candidates are quick to extol the role played by business leaders in various social endeavors, including the successful effort to secure a $3 million federal grant intended to nurture enterprise in the city's lowest-income neighborhood.

Battles between City Hall and the major nonprofit employers -- the Medical Center Hospital (now Fletcher Allen Health Care), the University of Vermont and Champlain College -- were a hallmark of the Sanders era. Now there is consensus among the Democrat, Progressive and Republican regarding the importance of maintaining good relations with the institutions on the Hill.

Each of the candidates argues that his past performance proves he is best able to make Burlington prosper.

Brownell, 46, points to his Master's degree in business administration and his 15-year career as a financial analyst for General Electric/Martin Marietta. Claiming that he has been highly sensitive to business' needs, Brownell recalls that one of his first initiatives after being elected mayor in 1993 was to make unpublicized fact-finding visits to the city's largest employers.

"Business knows who's in touch and who will respond," said Brownell at a recent candidates' debate.

Lafayette, a 44-year-old painting contractor, regularly highlights his status as the only small-business owner in the race. He tells local merchants and entrepreneurs that he knows, from 18 years' personal experience, how hard it can sometimes be to meet a payroll. The South End councilor also said he has succeeded in bringing different groups together for the benefit of the entire city.

Clavelle has spent virtually his entire career in government service, including a six-year stint under Sanders as head of Burlington's Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO). That tenure, along with his four years as mayor, have demonstrated his ability to work cooperatively with business. Clavelle says. He pledged to continue this "by-your-side" relationship.

Brownell offers a different description of the Progressive's approach to business He accused Clavelle of adopting an "in-your-face" posture.

During his two terms as mayor, Clavelle sometimes "acted as though he knew better than business itself what was good for it," Brownell charged. The current mayor cites the example of the City's withdrawal of its advertising from the Burlington Free Press at the time that the newspaper's management was attempting to block a union organizing drive.

Clavelle delivers an equally scathing critique of Brownell's leadership style, accusing the Republican of presiding over a "do-nothing" administration. Blasting the incumbent's "dismal" record on economic development, Clavelle claimed that Brownell "has taken business for granted in some respects."

As the former and current mayor focus their fire on one another, Lafayette has adopted a pox-on-both-your-houses attitude The Democrat faults both his opponents equally for what he regards as anemic growth in the city's tax base. Lafayette takes issue with the Progressives' "hyperactive" style of governing, which he says has slighted economic development initiatives, while characterizing Brownell as a mere "caretaker" who has repeatedly failed to advance the city's interests.

Lafayette and Clavelle both claim that Brownell's supposedly lackadaisical behavior was much in evidence when Bombardier Capital announced last year that it was moving its headquarters -and 190 employees -- from downtown Burlington to a Colchester office park. (See accompanying story.)(Story omitted)

The mayor responds to these sorts of attacks by noting that Burlington enjoyed a healthy rate of job growth in 1994. He cites state figures showing that the city gained about 500 jobs last year -- a 2 percent growth rate. Brownell also points out that Burlington has one of the lowest commercial property vacancy rates in Vermont.

But on average, countered Lafayette, the city's grand list has expanded only about 1 percent a year during both the Clavelle and Brownell administrations. That rate produces an annual rise in property tax revenues of roughly $200,000, Lafayette said, calculating that the City needs $600,000 a year in increased revenues solely in order to maintain services at existing levels. The alleged failure to promote economic development is what accounts for the current squeeze on the City's budget and the consequent pressure to raise property taxes.

Lafayette has put forth a tax increase plan of his own aimed at closing the gap between income and expenditures. He said he will lobby Montpelier to win permission for establishing a 1 percent regional sales tax. Lafayette reports that officials of a few neighboring communities have expressed willingness to explore the idea of levying a sales tax in the Greater Burlington area.

Such a 1-cent surcharge, to be added to the 5 cents already collected around the state, would produce nearly $3 million in new revenues for Burlington, Lafayette estimated. Another $350,000 could be garnered if the state agrees to make payments in lieu of taxes on property it owns in the city. Applying the full property tax fate to all fraternities and sororities in Burlington would bring in $70,000 more, according to Lafayette.

The Democrat proposes giving the city's school system half of the total amount of new tax revenues. That would relieve pressure for residential property tax hikes to pay for education, Lafayette explained.

He would set aside a quarter-million dollars a year to fund a local rebate program for low-income property taxpayers. Another $450,000 would go to reduce the commercial personal property tax, with a view toward eliminating this levy entirely over a four-year period.

Lafayette wants to reserve about $800,000, partly for capital improvements and partly for a rainy-day fund to be tapped in the event of an economic downturn. The balance of the projected revenues -- roughly $100,000 -- would be used to create a business marketing position in CEDO.

Lafayette also seeks to establish a citizens' commission to oversee CEDO's operations, including the choice of its director. This mechanism would help ensure that the Office is not run by a "political hack," Lafayette said. Another advantage of a commission, he maintained, is that it would make CEDO more attentive to business' agenda.

Despite the risk of being labeled an old-fashioned "tax-and-spend Democrat," Lafayette has also spoken in favor of a regional gasoline tax that might be used to pay for expanded bus service in Chittenden County.

Clavelle has generally refrained from calling for new taxes in any form. But he did observe at a recent debate that the regional sales tax was originally his idea -- which Lafayette had previously opposed. The ex-mayor has clearly sought to shed his own tax-and-spend image that was a key factor in his loss to Brownell two years ago.

Clavelle has remained faithful, however, to the activist and aggressive style associated with Burlington's progressive movement. He still vows to fight for the interests of the poor. And he has offered a host of detailed proposals for making city government a more powerful engine for economic development.

Among them is a call for formation of a lending pool, with participation by local banks, to assist high-tech firms that cannot obtain loans from conventional sources. Clavelle also wants to create a community Development corporation that, he said, could act as a tax-exempt conduit for foundation funds and other resources that may be unavailable to CEDO. Plans for building an industrial park at the city-owned airport will be resurrected should he win the March 7 election, Clavelle added.

The ex-mayor, who did enjoy good relations with a number of Church Street merchants, also promises to revive the Downtown Partnership. This consortium of public and private interests was allowed wither under Brownell's stewardship, Clavelle charged. Established in 1990, the partnership succeeded in raising funds for capital improvements downtown at no cost to local taxpayers Clavelle said.

Brownell's list of goals for the next two years is typically modest. He lists only three areas of concentration: balancing the budget without raising taxes; spurring construction of the long-delayed Southern Connector roadway; finding a way to pay off the $1.3 million debt incurred by the City for the purchase of a 44-acre "urban reserve" on the downtown waterfront.

Each of these aims is related, in turn, to what the mayor regards as his most significant achievements during the past two years.

Saying he has provided "common-sense government," Brownell said that he has balanced the budget while keeping tax rates stable. But he seldom mentions last year's state-mandated reappraisal that sent property tax bills soaring. Brownell's opponents claim that the reappraisal process was badly handled, while the mayor points to his tax-relief program for the hardest-hit homeowners. This is the only locally funded initiative of its kind in the entire state, Brownell boasted.

In his "results, not rhetoric" category, the mayor cites five accomplishments: voter approval for a new police station; the return of minor league baseball to Burlington; construction of a maintenance garage for City vehicles; procurement of the $3 million enterprise grant for the Old North End; and acceleration of the schedule for completing the Southern Connector.

Many of those achievements were "in the pipeline" when he left City Hall, Clavelle contended. And he suggested that the current mayor is unable to present a similar package of projects set to be carried out during the next couple of years.

Finishing the Southern Connector, which would run from I-189 to downtown along a route roughly parallel to Lake Champlain, has emerged as one of the top concerns for all three mayoral contenders. Each insists that the highway is essential to the long-term health of downtown businesses. Lafayette and Clavelle argue that the 1997 target date for completing a major section of the road must be brought forward and be made to include the entire artery.

The Southern Connector is seen as the key to unlocking development at the large urban renewal site along Battery and Cherry Streets. A major department store could be attracted to that spot once the road is open, all three candidates said. Lafayette's vision for this site extends further, to the possible construction of a "moderate-price shopping center" modeled on the Ethan Allen mall in the city's New North End.

The question of how to pay the debt on the urban reserve has also become a focus of contention in the campaign.

Brownell has proposed selling or leasing a small portion of the 44-acre parcel north of the defunct Moran Plant. He said that housing for the elderly might be built there, while one private developer has spoken of constructing vacation homes. That comment has led Clavelle to attck the mayor's proposal as a "condos for Canadians" scheme.

The Progressive and Democrat both say that the urban reserve should be left untouched by developers, partly because construction on the site would be highly expensive, owing to an absence of infrastructure. Clavelle and Lafayette added that they will aggressively pursue other options for paying the $1.3 million debt.

The trio of candidates finds harmony in the notion that development of parts of the downtown waterfront is crucial to the city's economic future. Each speaks too, though in rather vague terms, of creating "links" between the Church Street Marketplace and the waterfront areas along Lake Street and around Perkins Pier.

Lafayette wants to ban automobile traffic on much of the waterfront, saying this would make Burlington "unique" in its commitment to pedestrian-friendly development. Brownell firmly rejects that idea, insisting that development will not ensue unless it includes access by car. Clavelle takes an in-between stance, not promising to bar automobiles entirely but saying he will promote "alternative transportation" to both downtown and the waterfront.

Marketplace merchants require protection from the threat of a regional shopping mall in Williston, Lafayette and Clavelle both emphasized. Each of them pledged to speak out against suburban sprawl. Brownell is largely quiet on this subject, leading his opponents to charge that the mayor is not adequately defending the interests of downtown retailers.

Lafayette proposes giving additional help to merchants in the form of a "Burlington Card." Shops and restaurants participating in this program would give a 10 percent discount to holders of the card, which would be purchased for an annual fee of perhaps $30. Proceeds from the sale of the Burlington Card would be used for a marketing campaign on behalf of the city's retailers.

Although he has floated a number of intriguing ideas, Lafayette remains the long-shot in the race. He can expect to gain scattered support throughout the city, but he appears to lack the strong geographic and ideological bases enjoyed by both Clavelle and Brownell. Part of Lafayette's problem is that he still does not have the same degree of recognition as the current and former mayor, even though he himself won about 45 percent of the vote in a 1987 mayoral race against Bernie Sanders.

Brownell will once again look to the populous New North End as the foundation on which to build a plurality. The largely middle-class, suburban-style area remains receptive to Brownell's "less-government-is-best-government" pitch. The mayor can also expect to win significant numbers of votes in his own Hill Section neighborhood as well as in the city's South End, which is Lafayette's home ward, but which Brownell carried in 1993.

Clavelle is counting on a much larger turnout than two years ago in the inner city. The Old North End and the area around the Medical Center form the core of Progressive support. But no matter how big the turnout there, it may not be sufficient to ensure Clavelle's comeback. He also needs to run more strongly in the New North End than in 1993.

The ex-mayor has been steadily stumping there. His message to New North End residents, he explained, is that, "Progressive government and economic development should not be seen as incompatible."

Kevin Kelley is a freelance writer from Burlington.

Copyright Lake Iroquois Publishing, Inc. d/b/a Vermont Business Magazine Mar 1995
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