Terrifying. We will have to hand itle. How many of you are registered to vote as a democrat . Okay, thats a good sign. We have new democrats every four years. We want to make sure you have an opportunity to register as a democrat. T it makes it easier for who you are supporting on caucus night. We have three copresident s here tonight. De oliver and ally. If you are registered as a democratat make sure you signu. It makes it easier. I would o like to do a quick introduction. Hes been here three times. Im not sure how many of you were here the first time. 20 i students were interested in meeting a young mayor. President trump president obama saidim he might be the new leader of the democratic party. We spoke with him and able to talk to him. We were excited and felt he might be a leader of the democratic party. At that time i was concerned about making sure i said the word buttigieg b the right way. If someone is a democrat i wouldnt have imagined people in the Lgbt Community would have citizenship. It wasnt something possible. The idea someone to be a full citizen to be married in the military and doo all of these things is something we never thought was possible. There was a lot of work people have done in our country. Thee second thing is we hear so muchci the road to the white hoe goes through the midwest or grand rapids michigans were democrats havent been doing well. For the last thing they will look at housing about when employment is changing. We look at what someone might be a model. Experience moders. They were interrupted for a time and other Public Service to be in the military. Thats something you can spend eight months in afghanistan. So many people with the wisdom or lack of wisdom of people who joined the military. This isit what the United States would be. I know thats something people make real sacrifices. Hes been close to people who have done that and seen the familiese of who has done that. I would mention is why a 37yearold, why does a 37yearold need to run for president ru and is this the rigt time. Me he said we aree a generation fr change. Io we are seeing things like climate change, economic inequality that needs to change. This is not just about the next election. He was saying he would like to see from his generation and its not tim to waist. Those a are things i would likeo say about mayor pete. Herehe comes major pete buttigieg. Thank you to the democratic party. This was the unsung hero. Im here by wayay of the 2020 election. I want to make sure we never get caught. Oi the work we are doing in the state and local races is critically important and we would like to list that. [ cheering and applause ] i would like to thank you all of you for making me feel so welcome. Each time we come there is a bigger room and crowd and the conversation grows bigger too. Im looking forward to the conversation. I would like to begin by asking you in as much detail as you canu, to picture something thats definitely in our future. One way or the other. Thats the first day that the sum o comes up over america. Donald trump is i no longer the president of the United States. Just hold that image in your mind. T we cannot go on like this. We are already to put th chaos behind us. Putju it in the rearview mirro. Part off what im asking is to think about the challenge we had suas well. Think about it it will come over and be more divided. Its more exhausted from fighting and torn up over politics. We need to be brought together because of everything we have been through and about to go through. On the other hand Something Else will always be true. This is the simple fast at the issue the crisis at this point. The issues like a climate to this point of no return. The fact that we have a violence is anri active Shooter Drill before they learn to read. An economy were if the stocke market is looking good nor and more americans are left out and today there isnt one place in the United States of america, not one o county were they can afford a two bedroom apartment. T those problems are crying out for action. You can see what will be required. We will need bold solutions. We willl need a way to do it tht can draw the American People and galvinized. Thats why im going to get these big things done. To the president you need the communication. Thats why im running. The road map to get that done lies in america values. Itrt doesnt belong to one party or another. If you take them seriously you lead in a progressive direction. Patriotism, the love of the country. The flag doesnt belong. If we want to honor the flag it will take more to live up to the valueor of patriotism and valuef loving the country. It will take more then the cheap nationalism. Ly or worse, the president who thinks its pro military to overthrow military justice and pardon war criminals feeding intowa the falsehood there is no difference between a war fighter and war criticismal. Thats not patriotism. Thats not right. When i talk about loving our country i start with thee. Understanding our country is made of people. You hate half of the people in it. Talk about a richer and deeper set. They will honor it the word of the United States is trusted. You i should know whether its a good idea to pet your life. Thats a matter of national securityy and patriotism. Protecting our country and each other starts here at home. Its also for reasons of security and protection of the nation. We must act to make sure the Second Amendment can never be twisted to do nothing at all. We needne common sense law like background checks. That will keep us safer. We really mean business and we fuhave to protect our countries future. Thats why we must act here at home and lead the world to faceup to climate change. Ur you should meet that challenge to concur that challenge before that. Thats where my patriotism lies. You see how that value can lead us to the right place and hold together in american majority. The problem is they are pitting us against each other. Th first of all, this is the country designed around the constitutiontu of our nation. It belonged to people of everyco religion and no religion equally. At the same time those guyed in their moral formation this is so you dont have to wake up. I was hungry and i was a stranger. I believe American Values like democracy andra lead the way towards us doing a lot better. Democracy as a value. Every vote is counted. They are drawn and politicians took out voters and the other thway around it zens united and corporations have the same political soul for the simple fact and some say im going too ifar it might be appropriate fm november and pick our president from the person who got the most like we do in every other election as a matter of democracy. [ applause ] i believe the core American Value of freedom can guide the way towards a better life in the country. Atwe have a rescue freedom. Im not interested in preserving the freedom its about saving amazons freedom. Its not about cutting every regulation. T this is like getting governmet toutofthe businesses. Thats the important part of security. Sometimes to be more free we need to Public Sector tor stepup. Why we Center School districts. They supports our teachers. [ applause ] also in order deliver on the idea of American Freedom it must come to help. I dont think you are free if you dont have healthcare. In my proposal means we take a version and allow anybody to enrollon it. I trust you to decide whether eyou want it. The important thing is to make sure there is no such thing as uninsured american. The point im making is if you , follow our values and lead us toward the action that cant wait. Th we cant wait four years. We cannot wait any longer on a minimum wage thats livable in lepaid family leave, we cant wait. Cant wait to take steps. They have no bearing. Your Life Expectancy with Law Enforcement. We cant wait any longer about an escalading crisis. This could claim o 2 manufacture clives. We have to act right now to see that addition and Mental Health are addressed openingly as any medical challenge. We cant wait. I could go on but on issue after issue we have to do this. We cant. When we do it we can do it in a fashion that heals the nation. Pei cant say we will all agree. I cant offer you a presidency. You can turn on the news and see thehe white house and your pressure will go down instead of through the roof. [ applause ] importantly then that respond toto the crisis of belonging in the country i think is propelling the Mental Health challenges as well as our policies. The massage is going around the country and white house is fueling it. Different people in different ways because of who you are because of the language or mereligion or disability. H we support each other and we are working to do it not just in the white house and campaign running. This is why we are reaching out. Progressives to moderates or utfuture republicans out their that will see why we have to make a change. They will win big enough. Not just put an end to the trump presidency. Et its set up not just politically but governing the country. Yes, thats more then enough we have more on your mind. They will hold the mic for you. I want to see one, two and sit tight. So, i think a lot about how there is a large epidemic in terms of the murder of women of color specifically and knowing dethat the gay and trance crimes are banned in several states. I was looking at electedn president s. What are things you would do to help protect and uplift the queer and trans community. Thank you for bringing that up. There is a sense out their because of Marriage Equality and everything is fine in the community. Im very thankful. Thank you iowa. We have a war on transamerica. We can see what we are up against. There are two levels to deal with this. There is l policy level but we cant go on with the defense. We need a federal equality act. We need to make sure everyone is covered because of gender identity and sexual orientation. They should it matters what is going on in the department and agency. Make sureto exceptance is acceptance is promoted. All the way through to make sure people understand the culture and history and meaning. A lot of traction trans people are effected. With need hate crime laws in every state of the union so, rethere is the policy part but there is the idea the crisis has a sense of belonging. Through representation who is invited through the table and put in a position of power and through the language. A lotis of its through what you dont do they have been made to feel, i think a lot of us made to feel sometimes like you are taking up space. Its the, most important thing. We support people for who they are and want everyone to be able to strive. [ applause ] mayor pete, i also come from a family oft of educators. Decades of cuts and crushing debt for students and worsening treatment of faculty and staff. Our Education System leaves people out. Especially black, brown, and ipoor people. We have a system thats impossible to navigate. Your campaign is spreading lies about who benefits from public goods. Our vision ofsi Higher Education is free, accessible, and inclusive. We are not asking for them to be affordable its technical. They have no Higher Education at all. Our vision is a free and includingnc formally incarcerated. You have the opportunity here to be a leader to stand with uss. Instead of against us. Im asking you to do the right thing. Mrsupport free college for all. Ai i will support free college for most. Its nice to see you again and thank you for speaking up. I dont i think either one of us has changed. Sounds like i havent won yore over lets talk about the ones we do agree on. First of all, i agree on making sure cost is never a barrier to get Higher Education. You mentioned the formally incarcerated. The exclusion on pell grants for peopleti who are incarcerated is wrong and i would remove that. We willat make Public College tuition free for the first 80 by income. That cant exceed 100,000. You get past that. If you are in the top ten percent by income. I wish you well. I believe you can handle your own costs and should. Ont the back end that leads to the debt barrier doing well we needin com need income based Debt Repayment or Public Service. There is p a a program now for t but its impossible to take advantage. 1 of people are about to take advantage. The other thing we can do is make sure the irs and department of education talks to each other because of the hard to navigate system. Not this. You fill out a fafsa and your time is waisted. The systems are not talking to eachte other. The part where you and i part ways is the idea it should be free for everybody. There are a lot of good k through 12 00 education. E everybody in my fission should finish at least high school. I just dont think everybody wants to go to college. Cost shouldnt be a barrier. We are sending a massage that you cant get ahead unless you go to college. I think every single american access to it. We should make sure you have that responsibility whether you have been to college or not i guess my instinct is for those who need it the most. Imth hoping you feel there is a lot more overlap even if i cant n win you on the overlap. [ applause ] im really interested in hearing you talk about addressing and identifyingt mental illness. Also yourth response to the opid crisis, also with the more adcontroversial treatments. Yes, it could be devisive but leadership will get us in the right direction. We will seek to get us in the right direction. Methadone assisted treatment. It worked and finals finally turning the corner this is a medical notm. Moral problem. The moral problem if we know something would reduce harm. We have seen the success of and visited a Needle Exchange that mike pence of all people reluctantly incruded in indiana because of an hiv spread. Its common sense. Theas harm asoutheast associated with it. I would call for physicians to be qualified to prescribe methadone. Also they need training to know how much they should prescribe. Their lives depend on making it through the weeks. This shows the bigger challenge. We have to put resources and dollars to put parody on the books. We must fund it accordingly. Many statesti are looking into supervisors. We shouldnt stop that because we should have a chance to prove it. Its t very controversial. They should prove it saves lives and if it does we shouldnt standin thehe way. Talk about approaches on opioids we need to pause on the question of Racial Justice. There, are a lot of folks in my community and mainly the Africanamerican Community its great everybody is so forwardrw looking and turning the corner on the opioid epidemic. Where were you in the crack epidemic. I couldnt be responsible but i feel the need to look back at wother cases. It was a Law Enforcement only approach. Including things like legalizin marijuana. We also need to look back at harm done in the past and reverse those harms for those incarcerated right now in cases where we know it will do more harm then good. In south bend indiana, once that happened, you met with the press before you met with the mans family and you met with the police, i think, before you met with the mans family and the officer wasnt fired because of that, i just want to like wonder what the justification was or what your thought process was behind that because i was reading about it and it really upset me and thats not something that i think should ever happen in our country. So thank you for asking. A few of the details are incorrect there so i just want to clear it up. This did not take place at the gentlemans home, it took place at a parking lot at about 3 a. M. Theres a phone call that somebody had been going through cars and a Police Officer responded to that call. According to the Police Officer, he was attacked with a knife. But his body camera was not activated at the time and so theres no way weve not seen any evidence that clears that up. So one of the reasons i called for an outside investigation on what happened and that investigations going on right now. I also met with the family of the individual who was killed. His name is eric logan. I met with that family that day. Actually knew some of his family members from before. And have had conversations throughout that week and ever since with Community Members and family members and of course with the police for what that meant for our city. What i believe about the importance of Police Legitimacy is that every life is in dangered as long as theres a wall of mistrust between, especially africanamerican residents and Law Enforcement and this contributed to that mistrust even as the details are still being worked out, but we knew we didnt have to wait for an investigation to come back and start acting. So what we did was we came together side by side with activists, not always agreeing and sometimes it was lively and sometimes there was a lot of emotion and thats fine, thats healthy, i knew that sometimes it was my job to just be there and absorb a lot of anguish that was going on. But through that, over the course of the months, we have been able to structure a Community Conversation where we have empowered Community Members to build on work weve already done in the city, to change policies around the use of force, around how body cameras are used, around recruiting because we also have a challenge as so many communities have, especially since ferguson, of recruiting more diverse members to be on the police department. Its one of the most important things that we can do to build up that trust to eradicate bias. I cant say we have solved problems around policing in america in our city or any city, but what i can tell