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| - When self-styled "democratic socialist" Bernie Sanders took his first political steps as mayor of Burlington, the small Vermont town would serve as a testing ground for his progressive agenda. Born in Brooklyn, Sanders settled in the rural state at the end of the 1960s after studying -- and participating in anti-war and civil rights protests -- in Chicago. Situated on the shores of the vast Lake Champlain, Vermont's main city of 42,000 residents is closer to Montreal -- 90 miles (150 kilometers) -- than to Boston or New York. Eight years in charge of the university town helped Sanders, now a US senator in a fierce race against former vice president Joe Biden to become the Democratic presidential nominee, shape his world view. In Burlington, he learned about "grassroots development," one of Sanders' main assets, according to state senator Virginia Lyons, who often worked with him. "What he learned is small groups of people and citizens can make a difference," said the 75-year-old Democratic official, three years younger than Sanders. This connection with his base is at the heart of Sanders's political strategy, and his campaign rallies draw huge crowds of loyal supporters. Initially, he ran under the banner of the small, pacifist Liberty Union Party in multiple local elections, but with no luck. Everything changed in 1981 when, in a four-way race, he won Burlington city hall as an independent, with just 10 votes more than the incumbent Democrat -- to everyone's surprise. The Democrats already on the municipal council "tried to block him, even from doing basic functions of government," said Burlington City Council president Kurt Wright, the town's sole elected Republican. It was a hostile environment, while on the national level, then-president Ronald Reagan had launched an ultra-conservative program condemned by the American left. The newly elected Sanders, already speaking out against inequality, was looking for allies. The first battle in his eight years at City Hall was preventing the development of the public lake shores for housing or fancy hotels. With construction companies champing at the bit, he mobilized constituents to reclaim their public areas. The land was turned into a municipal park, with a few developments chosen through community consultations. Then in 1986, when 336 subsidized homes were in danger of being converted to market-priced housing, Sanders rallied local officials and residents. He facilitated a takeover of the apartment complex by housing associations, guaranteeing affordable rent. Sanders "has shown that he can get people fired up and motivated," said Wright. "I think it certainly has started here, in Burlington." With businesses, his track record has been more mixed. The outspoken Wall Street critic introduced much higher taxes on commercial real estate in Burlington. Business owners are not "necessarily a top priority of Mr Sanders," said Kelly Devine, the executive director of the Burlington Business Association. In 15 years at the organization's helm, she has met every well-known politician in the state -- except Sanders. Sanders has nonetheless forged a few friendships in Burlington's business community. Ben Cohen, co-founder of ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's -- a Burlington institution, even if it was bought in 2000 by consumer goods giant Unilever -- has campaigned for the senator. Sanders, who from 1986 to 1988 hosted a humorous local TV show where he met constituents, can be nothing like the grumpy, stubborn old man often evoked by his rivals. Wright, the council president, says he likes Sanders personally -- echoing the views of several people AFP surveyed at random on the streets of Burlington. But he disagrees with some of the senator's ideas, which Wright says would take the country in the wrong direction. With the battle against Biden heating up, Sanders's opponents will scrutinize his past even more closely than during his 2016 presidential bid. He has already had to defend a video from 1985 in which he praises the education and health care system implemented by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. And on Friday, The New York Times published an article from the Russian town Yaroslavl, which Bernie established as Burlington's sister city in 1988, the same year he and his wife Jane honeymooned in Moscow. According to the Times, Moscow considered establishing the sister city link as "one of the most useful channels" for Soviet propaganda. So should Sanders be viewed with suspicion? "People should not be afraid of Bernie Sanders," Lyons said. "He understands very much what democracy is about." cat/to/ft/acb
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