Despite the dozens of camera crews and journalists fighting to capture each moment of the mayor’s one-hour walking tour of downtown Rochester on Friday, it felt more like a conversation with an old friend than a presidential campaign visit. It was clear from the very beginning, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, wanted to learn about the challenges the Lilac City faces and how his campaign message can offer hope.

One of the first things I expressed to the mayor as we began our tour was that Rochester is a city of great resilience and compassion. That it’s not defined by some of our deepest struggles such as homelessness and substance abuse disorder, but rather our identity as a community comes from our determination to find solutions to those challenges and heal the wounds that still sting.

Mayor Pete listened intently as I told him about SOS, a life line in our city for those afflicted by addiction who welcomes the most vulnerable and offers a second, third or more chance to live.

We remarked about how homeless folks live in the woods year-round both here and in South Bend, Indiana, and how the Tri-City Task Force spent 13 months developing a master plan on homelessness to combat this growing crisis. When he asked how those efforts are paying off, I expressed deep pride in the work we accomplished mingled with concern that our City Council needed to begin talking bold steps forward to execute the strategies and reduce the rate of homelessness.

Mayor Pete was delighted to hear that despite our funding challenges, Rochester’s school district remained a model in the state and a leader in education.

As our tour meandered through the downtown, we marveled about the similarities we both shared such as our distinguished military service and the fact that we were both deployed to Iraq at the same time. We both actively serve a community that in many ways are also very similar despite being so geographically distant. That our service to both the nation we love and city we cherish have enriched our lives and molded our values. Both of us share a deep connection to the LGBTQ community and are married to extraordinary men whose support strengthens our commitment to our individual public service.

Our final stop on the tour brought us to The Revolution Tap Room, where I thanked Mayor Pete for taking the time to learn about our city and listening to how many of us are working tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of those who call Rochester home. From one war veteran to another, I presented Mayor Pete with my military patch that represents the commitment of service we both share. His parting words to me as our tour neared the end have left the greatest impact on my decision as we look toward 2020.

As he shook my hand and thanked my husband and I for hosting his tour he said, “Please let your community know, help is on the way.”

Jeremy Hutchinson is a Rochester City Councilor.