Carina Driscoll facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carina Driscoll
Carina Driscoll at the 2017 Burlington Progressive Party Caucus
Member of the Burlington, Vermont city council from the 3rd district
In office April 7, 2003 – May 2004
Preceded by	Doug Dunbebin
Succeeded by	Tim Ashe
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from the Chittenden-7-4 district
In office 2001–2003
Preceded by	Terry Bouricius
Succeeded by	District eliminated
Personal details
Born	Carina Nicole Driscoll
Political party	Vermont Progressive
Other political affiliations	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Blake Anders Ewoldsen
Children	2
Parent(s)	Jane Sanders (mother)
Relatives	Bernie Sanders (step-father)
Education	University of Vermont

Carina Nicole Driscoll (born 1974) is an American politician who served in the Vermont House of Representatives from Chittenden County from 2001 to 2003, as a member of the Vermont Progressive Party. She also served on the city council in Burlington, Vermont, and unsuccessfully sought the city's mayoralty in the 2018 election.

Driscoll was educated in the Burlington School District and the University of Vermont. Her mother, Jane Sanders, married Burlington Mayor Bernie Sanders in 1988. She became active in politics during her step-father's campaigns, with her serving as Sanders' campaign, fund-raising, office, and database manager.

She entered electoral politics with her election to the Burlington school board in 2000. She was then elected to the state house, where she served on term, before winning election to a seat on the Burlington city council. She partially served one term before resigning to focus on her first child, but unsuccessfully attempted to win election to the city council in 2011. She ran against Miro Weinberger in the 2018 mayoral election, after having supported him and worked for him, but lost.

Early life

Carina Nicole Driscoll was born to Jane Sanders and David Martin Driscoll. She graduated from Burlington School District, where she was an honors student, in 1992. She graduated from the University of Vermont. Driscoll married Blake Anders Ewoldsen, with whom she had two children, on April 19, 2003. In 2007, she established the Vermont Woodworking School.

Her mother married Bernie Sanders, who was serving as Mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in 1988. She worked as Sanders' campaign manager during the 2000 United States House of Representatives election. She later worked as his fundraiser, office, and database manager. She earned $65,002 while working for her father from 2000 to 2004. She volunteered for her father's presidential campaign during the 2016 presidential election.

Career

Vermont House of Representatives

Representative Terry Bouricius did not run for reelection to the Vermont House of Representatives from the Chittenden-7-4 district in the 2000 election. Driscoll won the nomination of the Vermont Progressive Party to run in the Chittenden-7-4 district. She defeated Grassroots nominee Matthew Hogg in the general election.

The Chittenden-7-4 district was eliminated after redistricting in 2002, and Driscoll was redistricted into a two-member district where both of the representatives were also members of the Vermont Progressive Party.

During her tenure in the state house she served on the Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources committee.

Mayoral campaign

Driscoll, announced that she was considering running a campaign for mayor of Burlington in 2017. She announced that she would run as an independent candidate in the 2018 mayoral election on December 4, 2017. At the Vermont Progressive Party's caucus Driscoll won the party's endorsement with 116 votes against Infinite Culcleasure's 84 votes after Representative Selene Colburn nominated her for the party's endorsement. Driscoll declined to seek the endorsement of the Democratic and Republican parties. Elise Greaves served as Driscoll's campaign manager.

During the campaign Driscoll attempted to unite her and Culcleasure's campaigns stating that “I think there is a ton of overlap and shared common ground with who we want to represent and the work we want to do". She also attempted to unite the campaigns as due to Burlington's usage of first-past-the-post voting "the mayor can win on a plurality". However, Culcleasure refused to drop out of the election stating that "Being coerced to drop out of a campaign for public office has been one of the most anti-democratic adventures I have ever experienced".

Weinberger won in the general election with 48.38% of the popular vote against Driscoll's 34.96% and Culcleasure's 16.07%. During the campaign Weinberger raised over $107,000, Driscoll raised over $47,000, and Culcleasure raised over $10,000.

Electoral history