from Martin O'Malley: Pick Pete for the Democrats Future.

[elleng]

'If you’ve been reading the coverage of the DNC Chair race, it would be easy to think that it’s all about the past — who dines with the most big shots at Washington salon dinners, who chose the “right” faction in our Party’s 2016 loss. None of that has anything to do with rebuilding our Party now.

The DNC Chair race is not about the past. It’s not about Washington insiders or the moneyed status quo. It’s about our future.
That’s why I’m supporting Mayor Pete Buttigieg — because our Party needs new leadership and a fresh start

The only good news emerging from Trump’s electoral college victory is that more and more good people today want to run for office than ever before. Many of these patriotic women and men are millennials. They are not only the largest voting bloc by age, but also more diverse by race and more inclusive by nature than their parents and grandparents. They are the core of the resistance to Trumpism. They were on the front lines with me and my own family at the Women’s March in Washington and other cities. It is important to note that Pete was the only DNC Chair candidate to attend the Women’s March.

The Democratic Party of the past became very good at telling millennials to wait their turn. But the future cannot wait. We must call forward the goodness in the hearts of young Americans if we are going to save our country and overcome the darkness of Trumpism. And that is one very important reason we should pick a millennial like Pete to run the DNC.

Our Party has — for too long — ignored critical state and local elections. While we pretended that Party no longer matters, Republicans racked up unprecedented victories in statehouses and governors’ mansions all across the country. We Democrats abandoned our “50-State Plan,” and we have paid the price for not acting like a national party. We can’t afford to become a coastal party. We can’t pretend that state and local races don’t matter — they do. We must compete in even the reddest of districts.

Mayors are on the front lines, they get things done. They see the whole picture, not just pieces of it. If we’re serious about an inclusive 50 State strategy, we should pick a two-term Mayor from a red state like Pete to run the DNC.

Finally, our Party is the Party of values — American values. Mayor Pete’s service to others has always been rooted in the values that unite us — freedom, fairness, families, and the future. He understands our economy is not money, it is people — all of our people. That we must always connect our values and our political choices to the lived experiences of real people.

If we learned one thing from 2016, it’s that people have lost their faith in the future and their faith that their children’s lives will be better than their own. We need to reinvigorate people’s belief that the Democratic Party can improve their lives. And we need a leader who will speak with clarity to the hopes and aspirations of every family in cities and small towns all across our country.

I know many of the other candidates for DNC Chair in this race. While they are all good people, this election is about who can best lead the Democratic Party forward in these times. Mayor Pete has the vision and experience that we need — especially right now. That is why I’m urging you to Pick Pete for DNC Chair.'

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Never heard of him.

He's probably very competent but I think we need somebody who's been in the party at a national level. I'm pulling for Keith Ellison - he's my representative and I'd hate to lose him, but he's a solid progressive who's won every election, understands grassroots organization and isn't afraid to fight. That he's black and Muslim gives him some additional perspective that a middle-class white guy won't have. I'd be OK with Tom Perez if Ellison doesn't get it, but some obscure mayor from South Bend? He needs more experience in the trenches.

[elleng]

2. I appreciate your concerns, Ocelot. All about Mayor Buttigieg:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Buttigieg

current and 32nd Mayor of South Bend, Indiana.[3] A member of the Democratic Party, Buttigieg has been serving as mayor since January 1, 2012.

he was honored by Caroline Kennedy and other members of President Kennedy’s family during a May 22, 2000 ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Library for his prize-winning essay for the JFK Profiles in Courage Essay Contest. Buttigieg’s winning essay centered on the integrity and political courage demonstrated by U.S. Congressman Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the nation’s only Independent member of Congress. He was also selected as one of two Indiana delegates to the United States Senate Youth Program. He attended Harvard College, where he was president of the Harvard Institute of Politics Student Advisory Committee and worked on the Institute's annual study of youth attitudes on politics.[7][8] Buttigieg was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa.[9] Buttigieg graduated from Harvard in 2004, receiving his Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude in History and Literature and writing his thesis on the influence of Puritanism on U.S. Foreign Policy as reflected in the Graham Greene novel The Quiet American.[10] Buttigieg received a first class honors degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 2007 from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.[11]

After graduating, from 2004 to 2005 Buttigieg worked in Washington D.C. as conference director for former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen's international strategic consulting firm The Cohen Group. He also spent several months working on Senator John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, where he was a policy and research specialist.[13]

After graduating from Oxford, he then worked as a consultant at McKinsey and Company, a management strategy consulting firm, for three years, from 2007 through 2010.[14][15]

He was the Democratic Party candidate in 2010 for State Treasurer of Indiana. Buttigieg lost to incumbent Richard Mourdock, garnering 37.5% of the vote.[16]

Buttigieg was elected Mayor of South Bend on November 8, 2011 with 74% of the vote[17] and took office on Jan. 1 as the youngest mayor of a U.S. city with at least 100,000 residents.[17][18] Mayor Buttigieg was named mayor of the year for 2013 by GovFresh.com, tying with former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg.[19][20] The Washington Post has called Buttigieg "the most interesting mayor you've never heard of", citing his age, education, and military background.[17]

Buttigieg has made redevelopment a top priority of his administration. One of the signature programs in his first term has been the Vacant and Abandoned Properties Initiative, known locally as "1,000 Properties in 1,000 Days", which is a project to repair or demolish targeted properties across the city.[21][22] The city has addressed 991 properties as of August 2015.[21] The scheduled end date for the program is November 24, 2015.

Buttigieg served for seven months in Afghanistan as a lieutenant in the US Navy Reserves, returning to the United States on September 23, 2014.[23] In his absence, Deputy Mayor Mark Neal, the City Controller for South Bend, served in the role of executive commencing in February 2014. Buttigieg returned to his role as mayor in October 2014.

Buttigieg announced that he would seek a second term on November 18, 2014.[24] The Democratic Party primary was held on May 5, 2015, and Buttigieg won with 78% of the vote.[25] On November 3, 2015 Buttigieg was elected to his second term as mayor of South Bend with over 80% of the vote. [26]

Buttigieg was named a 2014 Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow.[27] He was named a recipient of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Fenn Award in 2015.[28]

Personal life[edit]

On June 16, 2015, Buttigieg announced in an essay that he is gay.[29] He is the first openly gay executive in Indiana.[30]

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I did read his bio before commenting. He probably has a bright future in politics

but he's not ready for the DNC gig, IMO.