South Bend Indiana’s Mayor and DNC Chairman candidate Pete Buttigieg has gained the endorsement of nine Democratic Mayors from throughout the country to add to his list of supporters - who include former DNC Chairs Howard Dean and Ed Rendell - reports Jacksonville, Florida’s news4jax.
The openly gay Harvard Graduate, Rhodes Scholar, and Afghan War veteran is viewed by many to be the best compromise candidate should the voting, scheduled for Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia, go beyond the first ballot.
Which is looking increasingly likely.
Buttigieg was an early admirer of Bernie Sanders, winning the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Essay Contest in High School for his writing on the Vermonts Senator’s political courage. While at Harvard, Buttigieg was president of the Harvard Institute of Politics Student Advisory Committee, and he…
“….graduated from Harvard in 2004, receiving his Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude in History and Literature and writing his thesis on the influence of Puritanism on U.S. Foreign Policy as reflected in the Graham Greene novel The Quiet American. Buttigieg received a first class honors degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 2007 from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.”
He was a Naval Intelligence Officer in Afghanistan and also served as Mayor while on active duty.
In the news4jax article New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, the brother of former Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, said of Pete:
"Mayor Pete understands that the most successful progressive leadership and best ideas are coming from outside of the Beltway," Landrieu said. "We must be united to respond to this new administration. Pete is the best person to unite us."
Austin, Texas Mayor Steven Adler said Buttigieg:
"stands out as one of the strongest and clearest voices for and from the future of the Democratic Party."
Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales was also effusive:
"He knows that the solutions to our problems will be found in communities like Santa Fe and South Bend, not Washington DC.”
I, for one, am pulling for Mayor Pete.
Unity is of utmost importance going into 2018, and the combination of Pete’s endorsement by heavyweight Hillary backers Dean and Rendell, coupled with his stated admiration for Bernie Sanders, could prove the needed balm to heal the still raw wounds of our Party.
Friday, Feb 24, 2017 · 3:07:37 AM +00:00 · durrati
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney endorses Pete:
“Pete Buttigieg will be a strong and bold leader who will champion our progressive ideals and stand up for our families, our immigrant communities, equal rights for women and our LGBTQ citizens,” Kenney said in a statement. “He will convey our party's message of fairness and inclusion as we battle Trump's extremist forces of exclusion, racism and xenophobia.”
Found this tidbit at Politico:
“The email survey suggests that if the chairmanship race continues through several rounds of balloting, Perez might be in a better position to prevail than Ellison. While Ellison’s supporters had few qualms about backing Perez as their second choice, the same didn’t hold true for Perez backers — few who ranked Perez as their first-choice candidate said they would back Ellison as their second choice.”
Doesn’t bode well for 2nd and 3rd ballots, Tom.