C. Douglas Cairns Explained

C. Douglas Cairns
Office1:31st Mayor of Burlington, Vermont
Term Start1:June 3, 1957[1]
Term End1:June 1, 1959
Predecessor1:John Edward Moran
Successor1:James E. Fitzpatrick
Birth Date:1 June 1914
Birth Place:Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death Place:Burlington, Vermont, U.S.
Restingplace:Lakeview Cemetery,
Burlington, Vermont
Party:Republican
Father:Claude Cairns
Mother:Mae Lewis
Spouse:Frances Mary Nason
Allegiance: United States
Branch:United States Navy
Serviceyears:1941-1945
Battles:World War II

Claude Douglas Cairns (June 1, 1914 – July 6, 1985) was an American politician who served as the 31st mayor of Burlington, Vermont. His mayoral victory in 1957 ended eighteen years of Democratic control of Burlington's mayoralty since Republican Louis Fenner Dow left office in 1939.

Life

Claude Douglas Cairns was born in Salem, Massachusetts on June 1, 1914 to Mae Lewis and Claude F. Cairns. In 1932 he graduated from the Chauncey Hall Preparatory School and received a degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1936.[2] From 1941 to his honorary discharge in 1945 he served in the United States Navy on board the USS Block Island in the Atlantic.

From 1953 to 1957 Cairns served two terms as on the Burlington Board of Aldermen. On April 27, 1956 he was elected as Chairman of the Burlington Republican City Committee to succeed John B. Harrington.[3] In September he proposed adding the support of lowering the voting age to eighteen to the Vermont Republican Party platform.[4]

On February 18, 1957 he was given the mayoral nomination and on March 5 defeated incumbent Democratic Mayor John Edward Moran with 4,053 votes to 3,830 votes.[5] [6] On January 28, 1958 he stated that he would not run for congress, but on April 30 he changed his decision and announced that he would run in the Republican primary for the House of Representatives and went on to lose the primary to former Governor Harold J. Arthur.[7] [8] During his tenure as mayor he attempted to have a nuclear reactor built in Burlington and went to the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, but nothing came of it and attempted to add support for a national sales tax to the 1958 Republican national platform.[9] [10] On February 2, 1959 he announced that he would not to seek reelection and would instead run for alderman again and easily defeated Arthur J. Lambert with 1,434 votes to 856 votes.[11] [12] After leaving the mayoralty he was elected as Chairman of the Chittenden County Republican Party.[13]

In 1964 he ran for one of Chittenden County's five state senate seats, but came in seventh place out ten candidates.[14]

During the 1960 and 1968 he organized the presidential campaigns of Richard Nixon in Vermont. During the 1964 campaign he was an early supporter of Barry Goldwater and served as chairman and member of the Vermont delegation to the national convention in support of Goldwater although the delegates were officially uncommitted.[15] [16] He attempted to become the Republican national committeeman for Vermont, but was defeated by incumbent State Senator Edward G. Janeway.[17] He also ran Barry Goldwater's campaign in Vermont in 1964 and served as both his vice chairman of his campaign in Vermont and national campaign's chairman in 1964.[18] Late into the campaign he led an effort to block the Citizens Party from giving its nomination and extra ballot access line to Lyndon B. Johnson.[19]

Cairns died in Burlington, Vermont July 6, 1985 at age 71.

References

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Notes and References

  1. News: Cairns Sworn In, Pledges Program for City's Future . 4 June 1957 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191210033948/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40352225/the_burlington_free_press/ . 10 December 2019 . live . 11 . Newspapers.com.
  2. News: C. Douglas Cairns Obituary . 8 July 1985 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191209190557/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40322301/the_burlington_free_press/ . 9 December 2019 . live . 16 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: GOP City Committee Elect Cairns; Votes Open Meetings . 28 April 1956 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191209085211/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40308586/the_burlington_free_press/ . 9 December 2019 . live . 2 . Newspapers.com.
  4. News: GOP Urged to Ask Lower Voting Age . 7 September 1956 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191209085725/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40308636/the_burlington_free_press/ . 9 December 2019 . live . 13 . Newspapers.com.
  5. News: GOP Nominates Cairns for Mayor; County Chairman Calls Move 'Insult' . 19 February 1957 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191210032750/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40351473/the_burlington_free_press/ . 10 December 2019 . live . 3 . Newspapers.com.
  6. News: Votes by Ward For Mayor . 6 March 1957 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191210033447/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40351878/the_burlington_free_press/ . 10 December 2019 . live . 11 . Newspapers.com.
  7. News: Not Now Cairns Won't Run for Congress . 28 January 1958 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191210034621/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40352463/the_burlington_free_press/ . 10 December 2019 . live . 9 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: Mayor Cairns To Seek Republican Nomination for Representative . 1 May 1958 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191210034838/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40352469/the_burlington_free_press/ . 10 December 2019 . live . 1 . Newspapers.com.
  9. News: Cairns, Stebbins Leave Today For Washington . 17 June 1958 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191210035641/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40352536/the_burlington_free_press/ . 10 December 2019 . live . 3 . Newspapers.com.
  10. News: Federal Sales Tax Proposed By Mayor C. Douglas Cairns . 25 September 1958 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191210040115/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40353254/the_burlington_free_press/ . 10 December 2019 . live . 15 . Newspapers.com.
  11. News: Cairns Quits Mayor's Race To Run for Ward 6 Alderman . 3 February 1959 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191207212914/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40225331/the_burlington_free_press/ . 7 December 2019 . live . 9 . Newspapers.com.
  12. News: Voters Elect Fitzpatrick Mayor; Margin Over Dorn Is 994 Votes . 4 March 1959 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191130090822/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39835732/the_burlington_free_press/ . 30 November 2019 . live . 11 . Newspapers.com.
  13. News: Cairns to Head GOP In Chittenden County . 27 October 1959 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191210041315/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40353754/rutland_daily_herald/ . 10 December 2019 . live . 3 . Newspapers.com.
  14. News: Jack O'Brien Topped County Senate Race . 14 November 1964 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191209085725/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40308636/the_burlington_free_press/ . 9 December 2019 . live . 11 . Newspapers.com.
  15. News: Goldwater Can Win! . 24 January 1964 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191209232326/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40339143/the_burlington_free_press/ . 9 December 2019 . live . 15 . Newspapers.com.
  16. News: Caucuses Put Goldwater's Faction Best . 22 April 1964 . Rutland Daily Herald . https://web.archive.org/web/20191210025722/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40349981/rutland_daily_herald/ . 10 December 2019 . live . 1 . Newspapers.com.
  17. News: 12 Vermont Delegates Lean Mostly Toward 'Moderates' . 13 July 1964 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191210030528/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40350427/the_burlington_free_press/ . 10 December 2019 . live . 12 . Newspapers.com.
  18. News: Goldwaterites Want Time In Naming Vt. Party Chief . 12 November 1964 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191209225624/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40324888/the_burlington_free_press/ . 9 December 2019 . live . 17 . Newspapers.com.
  19. News: Republicans Plan To Protest Petitions of Citizen Party . 19 September 1964 . The Burlington Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20191209231725/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40324812/the_burlington_free_press/ . 9 December 2019 . live . 1 . Newspapers.com.

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