EDITORIAL ENDORSEMENT: Pete Buttigieg for the Democratic Nomination

In no way does an endorsement on behalf of an editor reflect an endorsement by Forest Hills Public Schools or the Hawk Herald.

Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg has a record of service to his country, the respect of many elected officials, a strong set of moral beliefs, and powerful ideas for America’s future. He is the strongest candidate to face Donald Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election. He is by far the youngest candidate and is an example of the new generational leadership that this country so desperately needs.

For the past year, the Democratic Party has had countless members of its ranks rise to tackle the task of defeating President Trump in the 2020 General Election. None of the other candidates, however, have the means capable of defeating someone who has tarnished the title of the office in a way that this president has.

Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren have plans that are far too radical, destructive, and divisive for our nation. Ideas like Medicare-for-all and eliminating public college tuition are expensive, unnecessary, and extreme. Mayor Buttigieg has taken a more moderate approach to these policies to create secure, smart, affordable plans for his future administration.

Buttigieg studied at Harvard University where he majored in history and literature as well as Pembroke College, Oxford where he studied philosophy, politics, and economics. He graduated from Harvard magna cum laude and is a Rhodes Scholar.

Pete Buttigieg is the son of an immigrant. He is married to his husband Chasten who is a strong figure and advocate for Buttigieg on the campaign trail. Mayor Pete took the crumbling city of South Bend and, as mayor, restored it from the ground up. Most notably, he demolished and repaired 1,000 abandoned homes in 1,000 days and restored countless neighborhoods in his city. As president, Pete Buttigieg could turn South Bend’s success story into America’s success story.

According to his campaign website, Pete’s infrastructure plan will create 6 million jobs and protect workers’ pay, invest $20 billion towards replacing lead pipes and cleaning up the nation’s water, end PFAS contamination that has affected countless communities including Rockford, Michigan, and put hundreds of billions of dollars towards public transportation and restoring roads.

As for racial equality in America, Mr. Buttigieg has created “The Douglass Plan”. This set of policies aims to empower African Americans by promoting education in low-income communities that are predominantly made up of people of color, investing money in black communities and businesses, reforming the criminal justice system that has unfairly affected the African American Community, eliminating the death penalty, and enforcing equality in employment, housing, and voting rights under the law.

Pete Buttigieg truly cares for veterans’ health because he once served his nation in the U.S. Navy. He understands the financial and medical needs that veterans experience and has promised to expand funding for programs like mental health care for veterans which includes coverage for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and similar issues. He has also coined a plan called “Medicare-for-all-who-want-it.” He believes that Medicare should be available to all individuals who decide to opt-in. This is an inexpensive alternative to private insurance which can be costly for many families. His policy still allows individuals to stay on their private plans if they wish. Medicare-for-all, a policy supported by Sens. Sanders and Warren, however, would force everyone onto a government plan and eliminate private insurance as a whole.

Buttigieg is a respected individual who has served his country and has concise and intelligent policies. Most importantly, though, Pete has a strong set of moral beliefs, reinforced by his religion, that is necessary to defeat a man who has demeaned the office of president by insulting our allies, defending and expressing a racist and hateful ideology, and pushed our nation to the brink of war with countries like North Korea and Iran. For the sake of the United States, Mayor Pete Buttigieg deserves the Democratic Party’s nomination in 2020.

Visit and support Mayor Pete at his website: peteforamerica.com