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If there was ever a signpost of the changes in Vermont in the last half of the 20th century, it was the election of Bernard Sanders in 1981 as mayor of Burlington.

Sanders, running as an independent, ousted the five-term Democratic incumbent, Gordon Paquette, by 10 votes. Sanders had sought office before, running for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate and governor under the banner of the leftist Liberty Union Party, but never came close. In those contests, he ran as the outsider, critical of the mainstream political parties, saying they cared only about the rich.

In the race for mayor, he said exactly the same things, but focused as well on the needs of the city and said they were being ignored by a mayor who had been in power too long.

Sanders served as mayor for eight years. The office gave him an important platform so that when he returned to statewide politics in 1986 he had credibility beyond that normally given independent candidates.

He won just 14 percent of the vote in a 1986 gubernatorial race, finishing third, but two years later, he finished second in a race for Congress, besting the Democratic candidate. His 38 percent of the tally was just three percentage points behind the Republican candidate. Two years later, Sanders ousted the incumbent and went to Washington.