Photo Courtesy of ABC News

In April of 2019 Pete Buttigieg became the first openly gay man to run for president. Throughout his campaign he championed acceptance, healing, and human kindness, proving that he was a unique voice in the political world as well as a voice that the students of San Luis Obispo High School can get behind.

Now, in 2021, the presidential election has passed and Joseph Biden will be sworn in on January 21st. Yet this wasn’t the end for Buttigieg; he was then nominated to the office of Secretary of Transportation and continued to be a well known political voice.

Expressions decided to detail Buttigieg’s importance to American politcs, as well as his background.

“Buttigieg is interesting, not necessarily as the nominee for Secretary of Transportation, but for his potential future. Though Buttigieg as a presidential (or vice-presidential) nominee would be genuinely ground-breaking as the first openly gay man to be nominated, I think he also represents a generational change within the Democratic Party that is equally significant. We know younger people are more focused on climate change, inequality, issues of structural racism, gun control, etc than older Americans and I think Buttigieg (and the others) could create more urgency around those issues,” said AP US History teacher Seamus Perry.

Pete Buttigieg is an interesting character. He was an veteran who fought in Afghanistan, a deeply religious man, the 23rd mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and gay man. Many believed Buttigieg was and still is a shoe-in for the presidency based both on background and political history. Pete Buttigieg is one in a long line of LGBTQ+ politicians who are really trying to make a difference. His husband Chasten Buttigieg is a school teacher, who has gained just as much of a voice on the political stage in the past few years since the presidential election.

Since the presidential election Buttigieg has become the nominee for Secretary of Transportation under President Joseph R. Biden Jr., he has also become the democratic voice on news channels like Fox News, of which he has become well known for. The hope is that the exposure of having an openly gay man run for the presidential office opens the race up to others. Our country is so diverse and executive, representative, and legislative bodies need to represent that on all levels. 

“His whole existence is kinda wild. The mayor of a “big” city (in Indiana of all places!), turned major presidential candidate, turned nominee for head of the department of transportation. What a rapid jump-start to a young fella’s political career. I would high-five him if I could. I do wish he’d’ve discussed climate change solutions a bit more in the primaries, and I hope as a transportation man he’ll be down for a green high-speed rail system. He’ll make a good transportation secretary though. I certainly see him going places. Too often such pearls are left buried in the countryside, so I’m glad he’s made it onto the national stage. He reminds me a bit of my favorite president and former peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter. I feel like it’s easier to trust folks in politics with humbler backgrounds,” said Senior Gianna Lucchesi.