-I saw this town from the early '60s just going downward,
and since Mayor Pete took over, it's a beautiful town again,
and every day it gets better and better.
-There's no question in my mind
that had Pete not been mayor for the last eight years,
we might not be in the great position that we are right now.
-I don't think a lot of people recognized who he was.
I certainly didn't.
I didn't have any problem communicating.
I didn't sense any stuttering or tripping over words or phrases.
When he came back down from the ICU,
we had a chance to shake hands,
and I said, "Thank you for your help."
And I asked him how long he had been with us,
and he said, "I really don't work here.
I'm Mayor Pete."
And I was blown away, and I went and asked
some of the firefighters that had been involved.
And I said, "How did he find out about that?"
They said that they thought that he had probably
heard it over the scanner.
What he did that day was not at all about him.
He translated words that I said and words
that the patient's mother said
without imposing himself into the dialogue at all.
It really wasn't about him.
It was about helping someone in a circumstance
and letting other people do their job.
I think that's the epitome
of what public service is all about.
It needs to be about selflessness.
-When Mayor Pete took office, he took office in 2012,
and the city was coming back
from a financial and challenging time.
He had not served on the council.
He was not a person who was on the school board.
He didn't hold any other local offices.
So, when he went straight to the mayor,
there was no history regarding him.
The idea of changing the downtown
I think was a key issue for him.
He was able to reach to different crowds of people
that other administrations
probably were not able to reach to.
-He is extremely capable.
If he says he can do it, he can do it.
I think he's very trustworthy.
Believe what he says. He's for real.
-All right, let's do 5,
4, 3, 2, 1. Hey.
-And the Mayor wishes that he could attend today
but asked that I deliver a few remarks on his behalf.
-I still think there's a lot of people that have issues
with the homosexuality aspect of it.
The vast majority I think aren't ready for it.
So, I don't think he will go all the way.
-Well, he's facing a lot of competition,
and he doesn't have that much political pull as the others,
but seems like a lot of people like him,
and he's done a lot for the city.
So, he's got some great ideas.
He's a young man and probably be good for the nation.
-One of the things that I think Republicans --
and as a Republican, I can speak to this --
is that on the national level,
our views have been pegged as bigotry.
Pete has a way of talking to people without contempt.
Pete's primary mover is service.
And out of that springs this desire to engage.
I've been telling folks, "Don't discount him."
I think that Pete's somebody that a lot of moderates,
a lot of center-right people can look at and say,
"Yeah, I can vote for that guy."
-Pete speaks to openness and inclusivity and compassion
that are desperately needed right now.
And I think of Pete as a rebuttal to nationalism,
racism, hate speech,
and it's a rebuttal that I'm really proud of,
especially coming from South Bend.