Indiana mayor to decide on political plan by year's end

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- An Indiana mayor who has been selected to speak at an Iowa political event alongside potential 2020 presidential candidates said he won't reveal his political plans until the end of the year.

Liberal political group Progress Iowa announced Thursday that South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will speak at its annual holiday party in Des Moines on Dec. 20, The South Bend Tribune reports . Other planned speakers include Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

Buttigieg, a Rhodes scholar who served in Afghanistan in 2014 as a Naval Reserve officer, said Thursday that he will decide by the end of the year whether to run for president. He said he has been talking with several people in the community.

He gained some national attention as he campaigned for chairman of the Democratic National Committee last year . He dropped out of that race just ahead of the voting. He also spoke at a Progress Iowa event in September 2017.

"Our members loved hearing from him, so he was a natural fit," Progress Iowa spokesman Matt Sinovic said. "As someone who is considering what he's going to do next, we thought he might be interested in coming ... and we want someone who people will be excited to see."

Buttigieg must decide early next year whether to seek a third term as mayor. The month-long filing period for Indiana candidates running in the 2019 municipal primary elections begins Jan. 9.

Buttigieg married his husband, Chasten Glezman, in June. He had announced he was gay in a 2015 newspaper column, five months before he won election to a second term as mayor with 80 percent of the vote.

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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com