ALSO SEE THE NEW “WIKIPETEIA” SITE! Lots of great rebuttal material.
Unfortunately, being a top-tier candidate for president means coming under attack. Remember 2016? It’s ten times worse this time around. Between Russiam bots, Trump supporters, the stans of other candidates, and media click-bait tactics, it can be difficult to focus on what’s real.
What’s real is that Pete is a genuine, practical and compassionate politician who’s always been an activist for human rights, always been a dedicate Democrat, and always done his best to listen to his constituency and follow his Christian values to lift up those in need.
Here are some terrific rebuttals that go into details — with receipts! These have been put together by South Benders and the Pete community.
on what pete did for minorites in South bend
Medium Post : “A comprehensive list of South Bend’s efforts towards racial justice and equity under Pete Buttigieg” This is the best list of all the programs and initiatives (for diversity & racial justice, among others) that Pete has implemented in his time as South Bend mayor.
Reddit post on homelessness in South Bend (from resident expert)
on the shooting of eric logan & the South Bend Police
Twitter Facts4Pete on what Pete, as mayor, can and cannot control about the SB police
The South Bend Police get new tech for their bodycams to start the camera if a gun is drawn from the holster - Implemented within weeks of the shooting, and the city got the bodycam manufacturer to do the upgrade FOR FREE. Seeing a problem. Getting it fixed. NOTE: This tech was not yet available when SB bought their bodycams.
Facts4Pete thread on the firing of the South Bend’s first black police chief, Boykins.
on the 1000 house project
Washington Monthly: “How the Media is getting Mayor Pete’s South Bend Gentrification Story Wrong” - "Buttigieg launched South Bend Repair, an initiative composed of three programs and more than $1 million in investment at the city and federal level, according to the South Bend Tribune. The effort is aimed at helping homeowners make renovations small and large. One of programs, Love Your Block, includes a $25,000 grant from the national Cities of Service nonprofit, matched by $25,000 from the city."
Curbed.com: "How Mayor Pete used good urbanism to revitalize South Bend" - "The effort met its target early, addressing 1,122 properties by knocking down 60 percent and fixing the rest, identifying homes based on code violations, foreclosures, and abandonment. Setting an ambitious goal to change the look of the city, and meeting it, “really lifted the morale in the city,” Buttigieg would tell David Axelrod. Colwell said the plan was “amazing” and really helped the impacted neighborhoods."
Indy Star: "Pete Buttigieg Says He's Mayor of a Turnaround City. Here's How That Claim Stands Up" -"Stacey Odom said she approached the mayor after learning of preliminary plans to redevelop her neighborhood, a historically black area called LaSalle Park, on the city's west side. She said she told Buttigieg the city should help the people currently living there keep their homes. The redevelopment plans, which she characterized as not having progressed very far, were abandoned. She asked the mayor for $300,000 for a grant program to help homeowners with repairs. He countered, she said, with $650,000. "That’s the kind of person you want in office," she said. "Someone who is looking at your best interests. And if they’re not (at first), if you go to them and tell them what your interests are, then they will take your concerns and make them their concerns.""
US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Report “South Bend’s Vacant and Abandoned Housing Challenge: 1,000 Houses in 1000 Days”
Twitter threads from South Bend residents about the 1000 Houses project. HERE and HERE
on what pete accomplished overall in South bend
Check out the video “Saving America’s Dying Cities” on our Vintage Pete page.
And this in depth Wired article: “Pete Buttigieg Revived South Bend With Tech. Up Next: America”
Chart of graphs showing increasing population and prosperity.
Reddit from local resident on the revitalization of South Bend with a list of accomplishments.
2019 South Bend State of the City Address by Mayor Pete Buttigieg
on whY PETE’S COLLEGE PLAN MAKES THE MOST SENSE
While some candidates propose “Free College”, Pete's plan includes a combination of using federal grants and leverage to reduce costs in state colleges, improving Pell grants for lower income and middle income students, and restructuring or forgiving college debt (esp for service professions). Although “Free College” sounds good, here’s a indepth look at why it doesn’t work.