Pete Buttigieg Announces his Candidacy

South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg recently announced his candidacy for president on April 14th, 2019.

He was accompanied by his husband, Chasten Buttigeig and several other guest speakers to publicize his announcement. After his announcement, Buttigieg focused in the areas of freedom, security, and democracy. In the are of freedom he touched on consumer protection, women’s equality and living one’s life by their own choosing.

His remarks ranged from border security and safety in cyberspace to global climate change. And in democracy, he noted that the electoral college had overruled the American voters, and how it is time to rethink that aspect of American democracy. He often talks about the year 2054, when he will be 72 years old, the age of the current president. When regarding the year 2054, he says “I take that long view because I have too.” He states this to show that he’s looking at the next 40 years. He also talks about growing up with school shootings “as the norm”, the generation that “produced the bulk of the troops in the post 911 conflict” and the generation that “will be on the business end of climate change for as long as we live.”

He talks about how he grew up in south bend how “there’s a myth being sold to industrial and rural communities.” and how “they are selling an impossible promise of returning to a bygone era that was never as great as advertised, to begin with.” He intends to look toward the future and believes that “there is no honest politics that revolves around the word again.”

Angie Rupchuk-Shafer and Ken Smith were able to give us their opinion on Pete Buttigieg’s speech. Angie Rupchock-Schafer is only 38 and she is ready to see people her age “running the show.” Rupchock-Schafer is “tired of folks of an older generation just shrug and say “well that’s just the way it is. “ Ken Smith is a resident of South Bend and belives Buttigieg has “thrown down some really wonderful challenges.” Smith says that Buttigieg’s speech resonated with him “on many levels” as a citizen.

Pete Buttigieg’s remarks on the speech were uplifting about the election and his opinion on his 2020 race are wrapped up in a simple statement. “This time it’s not just about winning an election, it’s about winning an era.”