Today West Hollywood Mayor John D’Amico joined more than 50 mayors from across the country to endorse Pete Buttigieg’s campaign for president of the United States. The announcement was made in an op-ed penned for USA Today.
“Mayor Pete has stepped forward to help write the future history of our democracy; to restore our democratic values and to invest in the people and places of America,” D’Amico said. “I am pleased to endorse Mayor Pete and know with him in the White House all Americans and all of America will rise and we can chart a course back to the America we’re destined to be.”
Buttigieg’s “Pete for America” campaign is launching a “Mayors for Pete” program that hopes to create a network of mayors and former mayors who will engage their communities in support of Buttigieg’s White House bid.
In its praise of Buttigieg, the op-ed says: “Pete has transformed South Bend, and now he is showing what American leadership can and should be in the years ahead. South Bend is Buttigieg’s success story.
“First, Mayor Pete puts practical solutions over partisan ideology. For mayors, politics isn’t a blood sport. While inaction and gridlock are the norm in Washington, mayors don’t have the option to kick the can down the road. Our residents expect electricity when they flip the switch, clean water from their taps and trash picked up regularly. It would be unthinkable for a mayor like Pete to shut down the government because of a petty ideological disagreement.”
The op-ed, which can be read here, also praises Buttigieg for his support for a “Medicare for all” program and his climate change proposal.
The mayors and former mayors endorsing Buttigieg include:
Steve Adler (Austin, Tex.), Nan Whaley (Dayton, Ohio), Christopher Cabaldon (West Sacramento, Calif.), Justin Flippen (Wilton Manors, Fla.), Christine Hunchsofsky (Parkland, Fla.), Dean Trantalis (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Betsy Hodges (Minneapolis, MN), Annise Parker (Houston, Tex.), Rob Moon (Palm Springs, Calif.), John D’Amico (West Hollywood, Calif.), Luke Bronin (Hartford, Conn.), Liz Alpert (Sarasota, Fla.), Michelle De La Isla (Topeka, Kans.), Jim Gray (Lexington, KY), Patrick Wojahn (College Park, Md.), John Cranley (Cincinnati, Ohio), Ian Baltutis (Burlington, N.C.), John Hamilton (Bloomington, Ind.), Jacob Day (Salsbury, Md.), Zach Vruwink (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisc.), Matt Shorraw (Monessen, Penn.), Brea Clark (Norman, Okla.), Gabriel Quinto (El Cerrito, Calif.), Joe Signorello (Roselle Park, NJ), John Harabedian (Sierra Madre, Calif.), Mark Kleinschmidt (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Layla Walz (Wells, NV), Lydia Lavelle (Carrboro, N.C.), Suzanne Prentis (Lebanon, NH), Ross Swords, Jr (Brownsville, Penn.), Leirion Gaylor Baird (Lincoln, NE), Kristopher Larsen (Nederland, Colo.), Noam Bramson (New Rochelle, N.Y.), Steve Hagerty (Evanston, Ill.), David Berger (Lima, Ohio), Tari Renner (Bloomington, Ill.), Sly James (Kansas City, MO), Andy Berke (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Daniel Yost (Woodside, Calif.), Ted Ellis (Bluffton, Ind.), Hugh Wirth (Oakland City, Ind.), Ron Strouse (Doylestown, Penn.), Beth Bashert (Ypsilanti, Mich.), Duane Rosenberg (New Carrollton, Md.), Shawn Raup-Konsavage (Bernville, Penn.), Dave Kitchell (Logansport, Ind.), Rosalynn Bliss (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Tom McDermott (Hammond, Ind.), Henry Schwaller (Hays, Kans.), Greg Goodnight (Kokomo, Ind.), Mark Barbee (Bridgeport, Penn.), Jim Carruthers (Traverse City, Mich.), Gleam Davis (Santa Monica, Calif.), Ryan Arndorfer (Britt, Iowa), Brent Bascom (Rising Sun, Ind.), Gay Ann Harney (Rockport, Ind.), Ron Meer (Michigan City, Ind.), Gabriel Greer (Peru, Ind.).
what a surprise. wonder why he endorsed a person with no chance?????
Absolutely disqualifying
Wish he could solve any of our problems at home before spinning his web on other things- now he’s a Horvath Wannabee.
Buddy if you think Medicare for All is giving up your health plan, then you need to think long and hard about how GM just cut off the GM workers’ union health plan as a strikebreaking measure. Medicare for All would make the bosses far less powerful over everyone’s life.
Actually, Medicare for All is far cheaper than the current system. That’s a fact my man. We don’t have to dramatically expand the tax base to pay for it. Indeed, chances are you’ll save money because you won’t have to pay healthcare premiums–a tax to a private, totally unaccountable health insurance company whose business model is to collect premiums while denying care. Nor will you have to pay co-payments or a deductible. Your yearly prescription drug costs are capped at $200. Your boss can’t lord your healthcare over you. It’s the best way to go.
Award-Winning Poster, where in the world do you get your news? Do the math! There is no way Medicare for All will not make taxes go sky high, choices will be limited, and health care will be rationed.
I take it that you are as capable of using Google as anyone. I invite you to investigate the issue for yourself.
What is the difference between a tax you pay, and a health insurance premium? What’s the difference to you? Yes, taxes may go up. But you won’t have any premiums. No co-pays. No deductibles. No out of network charges. No denials of care from your insurer whose business model is to collect premiums and deny you care. The savings to you are very likely more than whatever small amount your taxes may go up.
Brian Taggert, it may comfort you to know that Mayor Pete completely misquotes the Bible to suit his own purpose, or when he quotes accurately it is out of context, or he ignores the verses right before or after that any reader would know to discount the message he wants to convey. Jimmy Carter did the same thing.
Also, houses of worship are the largest charitable organizations on the planet. To tax them would seriously cut into what they have to give.
Other than Mayor Pete being gay, what would make you want to vote for him?
Him being gay is not why I’m voting for him. I’m voting for him because I support his position of Medicare for All Who Want It. I think his Douglas Plan to address racial inequality is one of the most comprehensive I’ve seen from all of the candidates. His urgency around climate change and his plan that includes rural America to be part of the solution and benefit in green jobs. His military experience. His measured temperament. While so many of the candidates up there (with the exception of Warren, whom I’ve also grown to really like) he’s comes across… Read more »
Actually John D’Amico could be running for president. At least West Hollywood is a big time small town with bucks in the bank and a major tourist destination. As for Pete Buttigieg, it is a stretch to say he’s transformed South Bend, Indiana. While everything seems to be new and bustling with energy in South Bend’s downtown, elsewhere, the city’s economic life is in a holding pattern. Residents in the area say they see little of the mayor, and lament the flow of city dollars they see headed into neighborhoods they view as already well-off, as they are left to… Read more »