Mayor Pete Buttigieg Has Connections to New Bedford [OPINION]

Mayor Pete is currently a rocketship in the Democratic Party contest to be the next president. He is from Indiana, but he has Massachusetts connections.

Most people who are following the Democratic Party presidential primaries know the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana lived in Massachusetts while he was a student at Harvard University. Going to Harvard isn't unique for presidential candidates of either major political party. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama are both Harvard graduates.

As the Massachusetts presidential primary approaches, it is interesting to note the connections Mayor Pete has to the city of New Bedford.

Ron Teachman, a New Bedford native, was hired by Buttigieg to be the chief of police in South Bend. Prior to his service as the chief of South Bend, Teachman was hired by New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang to be the chief of his city's police force.

The current mayor of New Bedford, Jon Mitchell, was one of the first elected Democrats to mention Mayor Pete as a presidential contender. Mayor Mitchell, like Buttigieg, graduated from Harvard and worked with him as a member of the national network of American mayors. Few people outside of Indiana had Buttigieg on the shortlist of presidential contenders back when Mayor Mitchell mentioned him on WPRI's Newsmakers television program.

I've saved the best for last.

Back in the year 2000, Pete was just a high school student. He won an essay contest sponsored by The President John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. The essay was about the courage of Sen. Bernie Sanders to put forward a socialist platform in America. Among the sponsors of the Kennedy event that celebrated the then-high schooler was New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang and his wife Gig.

It is nice to know that Mayor Pete has some connections to New Bedford and to the leaders of the region as we get ready to vote in the Massachusetts presidential primary.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.