sanders married deborah shiling in 1964. the couple divorced two years later in 1966. he met his second wife, jane o'meara, when sanders became mayor of burlington, vermont in 1981. they were married in 1988. sanders has a son, levi sanders, who was born out of wedlock with his domestic partner susan campbell mott. sanders and mott were partners only one year before splitting in 1969. sanders has three step-children from o'meara: dave, carina and heather driscoll. he thinks of them as his own children. his brother, larry, was a green party county councillor representing east oxford in england until his retirement in 2013.