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, following his election to that office in March 2006. He is a member of the Vermont Progressive Party. Kiss won re-election in 2009, and was endorsed by Vermont's Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. In November 2011, Kiss announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2012 Burlington mayoral election.
Since 1971, when he moved to Burlington, he has been working in the human services field. In 1981, Kiss was hired as director of the Community Action program for Chittenden County, a low-income advocacy group. Six years later, he became head of Community Action's umbrella organization, the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity. Kiss remained head of the CVOEO until 1999. He also served on the boards of the Burlington Housing authority and the committee on temporary shelter during this time.
Kiss represented the Chittenden 3-4 House district. He stepped down from the legislature on April 1, 2006, after being elected mayor of Burlington. Governor Jim Douglas appointed Christopher Pearson, also a Progressive, to serve the remainder of Kiss's term.
During his re-election campaign Kiss was endorsed by Vermont's Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. After re-election Mayor Kiss and the City of Burlington faced significant challenges related to Burlington Telecom, a city-owned and operated fiber-to-the-home telecommunications enterprise. Burlington Telecom is currently in proceedings at the Vermont Public Service Board for being out of compliance with its Certificate of Public Good because of its use of the City's pooled cash account. Also related to the use of pooled cash, the City defended a taxpayer lawsuit in Chittenden County Superior Court, which was dismissed in October 2012. In addition, Burlington was sued in federal court by Citibank, related to the lease-purchase agreement for Burlington Telecom. The city owes Citibank over $33 million. Over this period the City of Burlington's credit rating has been downgraded by Moody's, reflecting the financial challenges posed by Burlington Telecom. Throughout this time, the telecom entity has continued to provide its fiber-to-the-home services to Burlington residents and businesses.
|-
|-
|-
|
|