WEST SACRAMENTO — Thousands of people turned out in West Sacramento Sunday to hear Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speak before the crowd.

“Because we cannot go on the way that we’ve been,” Buttigieg said. “It’s time for something completely different and that’s where I come in.”

The man in charge of South Bend, Indiana, got a warm welcome from those who want his title to switch from mayor to president.

“I like that he is just so upfront and honest,” said West Sacramento resident Mary Chaffee. “He has a lot of good plans for our country, how to straighten out the mess that we’re in.”

“He seems like a down-to-earth guy, just a regular guy,” said resident Doug Nitschke.

“I feel like he is a person that brings back humanity to the presidency and to politics. I feel like he speaks to a lot of people,” said West Sacramento resident Sarah Sardella.

Buttigieg touched on a range of issues Sunday, laying out his presidential agenda, with the environment, gun reform and affordable health care topping his list of priorities.

“I believe we need to provide Medicare for who want it because you’re not free if you don’t have health care,” he told the crowd.

The retired U.S. Navy officer also highlighted his years of military service as experience that separates him from the crowded Democratic field.

“As a military veteran myself, I think we need someone back in office that actually has the military in mind,” said local resident Vincent Scott. “I think he’s got what it takes to be the president of the United States.”

Above all else, the mayor said he wants to be the moral leader the country desperately needs and someone who can bring people together and bridge divisions.

“We have a chance to be bold enough to meet these issues that we have in front of us and unify the American people,” Buttigieg said. “Being bold doesn’t have to be my way or the highway. Being unifying doesn’t have to mean softening up our values. We can do all of that at once but that means the right kind of nominee.”