Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic candidate who ran for state treasurer but lost in November is keeping his running shoes on and making a bid for Mayor of South Bend.
The seat is open after current Democratic Mayor Steve Luecke announced he will not run for re-election.
Anticipating his opponents' future efforts to paint two quicks runs in an unflattering light, Buttigieg notes:
While running two back-to-back campaigns is not a decision to take lightly, I cannot ignore this opportunity to make a difference. I was fortunate enough to have a great upbringing here, but our community struggles with the same kinds of issues I highlighted in the campaign for Treasurer. Without economic growth and more good-paying jobs, we risk falling into a cycle of decline in our neighborhoods, streets, schools, and economy.
There are four other names being bandied about - Pastor Barrett Berry of the Pentecostal Cathedral church, State Representative Ryan Dvorak, Work One business service representative Mike Dollinger, and St. Joseph County Councilor Mike Hamann. But I hope the city's Democrats pick Pete.
I've been around a lot of political people, and I don't remember being as excited about a candidate's long-term prospects since Evan Bayh was elected Secretary of State. Pete exudes intelligence, and every aspect of his campaign was pitch perfect, making him one of the few Willy Wonk-ish types who successfully tamed their inner professorial instinct. Nobody, except perhaps a clone of Pete with Meg Whitman's money, was going to be the Everlasting GOPstopper this year.
The biggest knock I've heard on Pete is that he looks really, really young, an affliction I wish I had. Of course, this is precisely why Pete can engage a new generation of Democratic leaders in not only South Bend, but throughout the state.
Buttigieg will need to corral support quickly to keep this venture from turning into a world of pure imagination. But if he is able to do so and win the general election, the sky (in a glass elevator) will be the limit.
(Somebody remind me to stop eating chocolate before I go to sleep).
6 comments:
Pete is the most popular candidate for Mayor of South Bend in Indianapolis. No one in South Bend knows him. He hasn't lived there the last 10 years. Dvorak will demolish him.
Dvorak supporters better be careful casting that stone. Didn't Dvorak go to law school (part-time, for FOUR years) in INDIANAPOLIS while "representing" South Bend?
Dvorak went to law school part-time duringt the legislative session. Wow. You do realize that the Indiana State House is in Indianapolis where legislators "represent" their constituents. Nice try.
Law school meets in the spring and fall, not just when the legislature is in session.
If Pete isn't elected mayor, and (cringe) Dvorak is, I will be so ashamed to live in this city.
A letter came today from Pete asking for my support for his campaign for Mayor of South Bend. Since I am a native of Indianapolis, I have no idea what his platform may be for either the preservation of Dingus Day or shipping lake snow south to Florida. But I do know one thing---
It is better to cheer the mayor than to boo the judge. So he is getting a ten spot just on general principle for having a funnier name than Dvorak and throwing himself in front of the Republican train last November.
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