Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders was once married to Deborah Shiling who he divorced, in 1966. Then he became involved with Susan Campbell Mott who gave birth to his son, in 1969.

Years later in 1988, he tied the knot again with Jane O’Meara Driscoll. He considers Jane’s three children from a previous relationship as his own. He also has seven grandchildren.

Bernie Sanders was born on September 8, 1941 in Brooklyn, to Dorothy and Eli Sanders, Jewish immigrants from Poland. His father worked as a paint salesman and the family was a middle-class one.

He grew up witnessing the horrors wrecked by the World War II and as a result became interested in politics. He was a good student and performed well in his school, the James Madison High School. His mother died shortly after his graduation and his father followed suit three years later.

Sanders studied at Brooklyn College for a year in 1959–60 before moving to the University of Chicago. He was involved in the civil rights movement and served as an organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during his college days. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1964.

Bernie Sanders spent the next few years working in a succession of jobs including stints as a filmmaker and freelance writer. He also spent several months on an Israeli kibbutz. His interest in politics grew during the 1960s and he began his political career in 1971 as a member of the Liberty Union Party.

He started working as a writer and the director of the nonprofit American People's Historical Society (APHS) after leaving the Liberty Union. In 1981, he was elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont, by only 12 votes.

He implemented major reforms in progressive taxation, environmental protection, child care, women’s rights, youth programs and the arts. As mayor, he proved to be a very popular one and was ultimately re-elected three times, defeating both Democratic and Republican candidates.

In 1990, he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. An independent candidate, he now needed to find political allies to advance his issues. So he entered into a caucus with the Democrats and co-founded the Congressional Progressive Caucus. As outspoken man, he vocally criticized the Iraq War and was concerned about the social and financial impact it would cause. Sanders served in the House from 1991 until he became a senator.

In 2006 he ran for the Senate against Republican businessman Richard Tarrant. He won the election and assumed office as United States Senator from Vermont on January 3, 2007.

Bernie Sanders is very popular as an U.S. Senator. He delivered an 8½-hour speech against the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 which gained him many supporters. His speech was published in February 2011 by ‘Nation Books’ as ‘The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class’.