The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 40

The Burlington Free Press, SPECIAL SECTION vermonter Burlington's mayoral race Peter Brownell: Not your average number-cruncher 4G SUNDAY, February 26, 1995 Peter Brownell FAVORITE THINGS He cites many accomplishments in the past two years, including balancing the budget without a general fund tax increase; pushing the Southern Connector forward; and securing a $3 million federal grant for the Old North End. "Things didn't stop. Things didn't come to a crushing halt." Mayor Peter Brownell Seeking re-election i ICE CREAM FLAVOR Heath Bar Crunch fOOD Chinese food MUSIC Cat Stevens, folk music ABTHQRS Adventure stories, war novels NICKNAME doesn't have one rule. Tina Brownell currently works at the company, in addition to studying nursing part-time at UVM. Brownell got involved in Burlington politics with the school board; he started serving in 1983.

He became a Ward 6 city councilor in 1987. The mayor, who earns $54,500 a year, has said he doesn't consider himself a professional politican. Neither does his ally Dianne Deforge, Brownell's campaign manager. "I envision him as being a very dedicated, no-nonsense manager of our overall needs," said Deforge, who has been credited as the driving force behind Brownell's 1993 victory. When he's not managing the city, Brownell loves to sail.

He hopes one day to sail to the Caribbean with his wife and spend five or six months in the Virgin Islands. "It's a life's dream for me." The Brownells had a scare in December 1993, when the mayor underwent angioplasty for a blocked coronary artery. But Brownell says he's fully recovered; he's past the first six months, which is considered the critical time. On the job In his re-election campaign, Brownell cites many accomplishments in the past two years, including balancing the budget without a general fund tax increase. He also credits his administration with pushing the Southern Connector project forward; securing a $3 million federal grant for the Old North End; finding a new location for the city's maintenance garage; and winning approval for a new police station at 1 North Ave.

By Sona Iyengar Free Press Staff Writer He doesn't like publicity. He's been described as quiet and unassuming; a number-cruncher who loves computers. But that's not a complete picture of Republican Mayor Peter Brownell, close friends and relatives say. His personal experiences also testify to a colorful life starting with a childhood spent shuttling between Long Island and Vietnam. "It's been interesting that they've sort of portrayed him as being a numbers person, not a people person," said Tina Brownell, 44, his wife of 25 years.

They obviously don't know him." When Tina Brownell met her future husband, he was majoring in chemical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania but decided to switch to sociology. "He really wanted to deal with people," Tina Brownell said. For the past two years, Peter Brownell, 46, has been dealing with lots of people on issues ranging from raising property taxes to minor league baseball. He says he's run the city like a business, quietly and efficiently. And he wants to continue that service for the next two years.

World traveler Brownell was born in New York City in 1948. His father, Lincoln Brownell, who has deep roots in Vermont, started an import-export business in Vietnam. The mayor's education was split between Long Island schools and American schools abroad before he entered Choate School, a Connecticut prep school. On school vacations, Brownell would stay with relatives in Vermont. Brownell's aunt, Betsy Montgomery of Colchester, said "Things didn't stop.

Things didn't come to a crushing halt," Brownell said. He does acknowledge many projects completed during his term were initiated earlier such as the Main Street Landing waterfront development and the Lake Champlain Basin Science Center. When asked what new initiative he can take credit for, Brownell names the city's property tax relief program, which refunds some property taxes above the state's rebate. The $150,000 program initially was a one-year deal, but Brownell said he's included money for it in next year's budget as well. It's not yet clear how the program is working, as only three or four people have applied for the rebates.

Applications are expected to pick up in the next few months as the state processes its rebates. Brownell also said he deserves more credit for a $3 million federal Enterprise Community grant than any of his mayoral opponents. "It was on my authorization that we committed a significant amount of resources," he said. Unlike his two major party opponents, who herald property tax reform as the No. 1 issue, the mayor said stabilizing the city's tax base is most important.

He said improving transportation with the Southern Connector will bring more businesses to town. Brownell admits he's made mistakes including cutting 100,000 from the snowplowing budget last winter and failing to prepare residents for a property reappraisal that shifted the tax burden their way. "I guess I could've done more to tell people about it," he said. He's also been criticized for he was always determined and considerate. "He's a concerned person and interested in everything that's going on and always was," Montgomery said.

He has lots of integrity." He and Tina Bratton married in 1969 in Maryland, but they didn't have a traditional wedding. They eloped. A church ceremony followed later. They were young and in love, Tina Brownell said. "We wanted it to happen then." After a six-year stint in the U.S.

Air Force, which took him to Selma, Turkey and Washington D.C., Brownell enrolled at the University of Vermont, receiving a master's degree in business administration in 1978. Brownell worked at the former General Electric plant, now Martin Marietta, as a financial analyst for 1 5 years before winning the mayor's seat in 1993, toppling 12 years of Progressive Peter Brownell and his family, from left: Coby, 24, Peter, 46, Tina, 44, Jamie, 23 and Lauren, 25. lacking leadership and pushing to develop a parcel of waterfront land Burlington voted to preserve in 1990. But Brownell has defended his leadership style and said developing the waterfront land will allow the city to pay off its 1 .3 million debt. Peter Clavelle FAVORITE THINGS Peter Clavelle: Former mayor is back in the ICE CREAM FLAVOR Heath Bar Crunch FOOD Anything hot and spicy, Cajun cooking MUSIC Cajun and Zydeco, Calypso, Bluegrass AUTHORS Jack Kerouac, V.

S. Naipaul, Herman Wouk NICKNAME Moon Peter Brownell at age His goals for the next two years? Finding a method to pay off that debt; seeing the Southern Connector completed; and fully funding the city's street and sidewalk repair program. "I want to finish some of the things I started." trenches Peter Clavelle at age 8 Helping people get 276 North Ave. Burlington, VT 05401 VT TOLL FREE 1-800-649-4591 UHC Rutland Bennington Pittsburgh Lebanon Burlington government has changed in the past two years. There's less public discussion and debate on issues.

"We have today a caretaker government. We need to bring back to City Hall that sense of optimism, that sense of enthusiasm that is lacking. The voters know that Til be straight with them." Peter Clavelle mayoral candidate changed in the past two years, Clavelle said. There's less public discussion and debate on issues. "We have today a caretaker government.

We need to bring back to City Hall that sense of optimism, that sense of enthusiasm that is lacking." The Progressive said his unsuccessful 1993 campaign was marred by complacency. But this time, the campaign effort is charged with energy and enthusiasm, he said. Clavelle said his track record at City Hall will put him in good stead with voters: "The voters know that I'll be straight with them." His record includes starting a Ok community policing program; building affordable housing; purchasing almost 60 acres for the city's Waterfront Park and urban reserve; negotiating an agreement with the University of Vermont over housing, parking and traffic; bringing new businesses to Burlington and initiating a franchise fee, charged of utilities, as an alternative to the property tax. Clavelle said his most remarkable achievement was the waterfront deal. "That waterfront will always be there for the people of Burlington to use and enjoy," he said.

But that hasn't come without a cost. Paying off the remaining $1.3 million waterfont debt is a key issue in the mayoral campaign. Clavelle said that when he left office, he left behind several options to pay it off including money from the state, the Vermont Housing Conservation Trust Fund and federal highway funds. If elected, Clavelle promises to fight for fair state funding for Burlington schools, provide quality city services, promote downtown development and preserve the urban reserve, the 45 acres of open waterfront land. When he was mayor, government made a "positive difference" in people's lives, Clavelle said.

"It was a government that was both efficient and caring I believe people want that government back in City Hall." Hunan Cuisines We cook without MSG! We use vegetable oil 79 W.Canal Winooski 655-7474655-7475 1 1 p.m. Fri. Sat. p.m. Sun.

Holidays p.m. By Sona Iyengar Free Press Staff Writer Peter Clavelle runs a hand over his bald head thoughtfully, his blue eyes sparkling as if they held the secret everyone wanted to know. The 45-year-old former Progressive mayor appears relaxed but full of energy as he sits in his Main Street campaign office, taking a break from a steady diet of phone calls, door knocking, news conferences and debates. In fewer than two weeks, the verdict will be in. Clavelle will know whether he can spring back from his 1993 defeat and win the chance to steer the city for the next two years.

"I can't think of anything I'd rather do," he said. Those who know Clavelle say he's a personable, fun-loving guy, a good listener who is genuine and honest. Clearly, there are many sides to this man, who once was described by Newsweek as "bald, paunchy and colorless." Michael Monte, a Clavelle campaign worker and close friend, takes issue with that description. "Anyone who knows Peter Clavelle knows that he's not colorless," Monte said. "He may be bald, he may be paunchy, but he's not colorless." Where It all began Clavelle was born in Winoos-ki, a descendant of French-Canadians who came to Vermont to work in the woolen mills.

He was the second of Raymond and Eleanor Clavelle's five children. "He always brought hoards of friends to the house. He befriended everybody," said Eleanor Clavelle, 69. "He loved to read, loved to write stories. One day, one of his aunts said, 'You could write She was right, I guess." Politics was part of Clavelle's daily diet when he was growing up.

After school, he'd hang out at his father's meat market stocking shelves and listening to the local political banter. At age 12, Clavelle got a taste of what it was like to be mayor. He was elected mayor of Winoos-ki for a day by his Boy Scout troop. Clavelle did well in school. A high school friend remembers being surprised when Clavelle went to sit on the stage at graduation, where the top achievers in the class sat.

"Ninety percent of the graduating class who were not on the stage thought that Peter was pulling a practical Tim McKenzie, a Clavelle campaign worker. "He was always the fun-loving, partying, happy-go-lucky guy You never got the sense of him as the gifted, academic-type achiever that he is." Clavelle attended St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., where he majored in urban studies. He then went on to Syracuse University, earning a master's degree in public administration. Years of experience From there, he began a 20-year career in municipal government.

At age 23, Clavelle was Castleton's town manager. Four years later, he became Winooski's city manager. In 1982, during former Mayor Bernard Sanders' reign, Clavelle was hired as Burlington's personnel director. He was appointed director of the Community and Economic Development Office in 1983, serving in that position for six years. After a four-year stint as Burlington's mayor, Clavelle, his wife, Betsy Ferries, and their three children spent a year on the Caribbean isle of Grenada.

There, he worked with an international agricultural organization and did community development consulting. "We were able to totally immerse ourselves in the culture of this small island," Clavelle said. He and Ferries had honeymooned in Grenada in 1981 and had vowed to return. While on the island, Clavelle joined a month-long U.S. Agency for International Development project in the Gaza Strip to assess the condition of local government there.

He and his family returned to Burlington last summer, but he wasn't still for long. Clavelle traveled to Brazil in September for two weeks, consulting on local government and economic development issues. He recently founded Burlington Associates, a community development consulting firm. Clavelle said he's happy to be back in Burlington, but sometimes longs for his Caribbean paradise. A poster of Grenada hangs in his campaign office.

"There are times when the slow pace and the warm breezes of Grenada are missed," the candidate said. The race to be mayor Burlington government has Peter Clavelle and his family, from left: Will, 6, Peter, 45, Jae, 7, Luke 10 and his wife, Betsy Ferries, 47. Yankee Medical. back on their feet for nearly hnlf rpntnrv "tW Peking Buck Because there's more to our business than selling medical supplies, we've established "The Yankee Medical Support System." It gives you access to services that go beyond the physical -from budgeting assistance, to on-going consumer education, to patientphysician consultation. HOUSE RESTAURANT Mandarin.Szechuan Try Our New Specials: Asparagus with choice of Pork, Chicken, Beef or Shrimp We'll help you get back on your feet.

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