Peter A. Clavelle (born May 10, 1949) is an American politician who served as the 38th and 40th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

, and was the first member of a

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a veh ...

to hold the office since James Edmund Burke in 1935.

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

also won several elections as an independent candidate in the 1980s (e.g. in 1981, in 1983, in 1985, in 1987), defeating both Republican and Democratic candidates. Sanders and Clavelle founded the Vermont Progressive Party during Sanders' time as mayor.

Early life and education

Peter A. Clavelle was born on May 10, 1949, to Raymond and Eleanor Clavelle in

Winooski, Vermont Winooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located on the Winooski River, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census the municipal population was 7,997. The city is the most densely populated municipality in nort ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in urban studies from

Saint Anselm College Saint Anselm College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire, United States. Founded in 1889, it is named after Saint Anselm of Canterbury. As of 2024, the college's enrollment was 2,094 students. History ...

and a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

from the

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 1 ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Career

In 1961, he was elected mayor of Winooski for a day by his Boy Scout troop. In 1972 he was appointed as Castleton's town manager and in 1976 was appointed as Winooski's city manager. During Bernie Sanders' tenure as mayor of Burlington, Clavelle served as Burlington's personnel director and later as director of the Community and Economic Development Office from 1983 to 1989.

1989–1993 mayoral terms

Clavelle was elected mayor in 1989 as a Progressive. During the 1993 mayoral election he raised almost twice as much money as his Republican opponent Peter C. Brownell although Brownell was able to take the Burlington police union's endorsement from Clavelle. On March 3 Brownell unexpectedly defeated Clavelle with 5,410 votes to 4,686 votes. Clavelle stated that he lost due to the controversy over his proposal (which was passed) to have the city pay for healthcare benefits for domestic partners of city workers.

1995–2006 mayoral terms

Clavelle returned to the mayor's office two years later in 1995, after defeating Burlington's 39th Mayor

Peter Brownell Peter C. Brownell (born 1948) is an American politician who served as the 39th Mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Prior to his tenure as mayor he was active in local politics with him serving on the school board and the city council. After his tenure ...

. The Draft Clavelle for Governor Committee was formed on September 11, 1998, and attempted to gather 1,000 signatures to place Peter Clavelle on the ballot. However, Clavelle announced that he would not run on September 14. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, Clavelle ran for

Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

against incumbent Governor

Jim Douglas James Holley Douglas (born June 21, 1951) is an American politician from the U.S. state, state of Vermont. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served as the List of governors of Vermont, 80th governor of Vermont from 2003 to 2011. ...

and four other candidates. In order to run in the Democratic Party primary, Clavelle had to change party affiliation, as required by state law. He received the endorsement of five-term former Democratic Governor

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, consultant, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 20 ...

, but was defeated, 38% to 59%. After Burlington's switch to

instant-runoff voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV; ranked-choice voting (RCV), preferential voting, alternative vote) is a single-winner ranked voting election system where Sequential loser method, one or more eliminations are used to simulate Runoff (election), ...

in 2005, Clavelle decided not to run in the 2006 election. Clavelle did not seek re-election to an eighth term as mayor in the 2006 Burlington mayoral election.

Bob Kiss Bob Kiss (born April 1, 1947) is an American politician and former mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Kiss was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from January 2001 until he stepped down to assume office as mayor of Burlington, followin ...

succeeded Clavelle as mayor in April 2006. In 2012, Clavelle moved to

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

as a staff member on a USAID-funded local governance Non Governmental Organization called TetraTech. He returned to Vermont in 2016.

Electoral history

References