Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg shared his path into politics and his thoughts on the future for himself and his country before a sell-out crowd at the IU Auditorium in Bloomington on Thursday, Sept. 18. The evening event ended the day where Buttigieg first attended and spoke at a rally against mid-decade gerrymandering at the Statehouse in Indianapolis and then attended the opening of a new Democratic Party office in Bloomington.
The question of moment for Americans, he said, is how people with very different views can live together. “Our country is founded on the idea of inclusive political discourse,” he said, mentioning the gerrymandering issues Indiana and the nation currently face, saying, “Gerrymandering is wrong and ought to be illegal.”
He said gerrymandering is “unfair and contributes to polarization in Washington,” adding that helps pull politicians and other people into different factions.
Buttigieg sat with moderator Reid Sprenkle, director of lectures with Indiana University’s Union Board, on the Auditorium stage, detailing how he began in politics in South Bend in 2010 with an unsuccessful bid for state treasurer followed by his election as mayor, serving from 2012 to 2020. He talked about his successes and what he learned while leading the Transportation department and how being a family man has kept him grounded and humble.
Here are some of the highlights:
Buttigieg did not talk about his future in politics but did say he wants to be able to look his children in the eye when they are older and say, “This is what we did to make sure you have a better future than we did.”
Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Pete Buttigieg shares thoughts on politics, family, being a Hoosier at IU Auditorium
Reporting by Carol Kugler, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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