Residents of South Bend, Indiana, have warned Americans to not vote for their former mayor, Pete Buttigieg, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

‘We’ll Be in a New Depression’

Michelle Burger, 42, a stay-at-home mom who lives in West Side, a predominantly black and impoverished neighborhood in South Bend, said that she “fears for our country” if Buttigieg got elected.

“He couldn’t run our city. How can he run the United States? Look at all the crime — he didn’t do anything about it,” she said. “Look at our quality of life. If he becomes president, the United States will become one big South Bend — a giant sinkhole. We’ll be in a new depression.”

Another resident of West Side, Cornish Miller, 62, rated Buttigieg 2 out of 10 for performance as mayor.

“Buttigieg talked about all the improvements he made, but he hardly made a dent,” Miller said. “The West Side is the most neglected part of town. The street I live on is the only street around here that has lights.”

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Politicians on both sides of the aisle in South Bend have fierce criticisms of Buttigieg. Councilman Henry Davis Jr., who challenged Buttigieg for the mayoral title in the 2015 primary, said he  was “inept” in his position and “always had one foot out the door.” Davis Jr. argued Buttigieg was never “committed to the growth and the [functionality] of this community,” and only saw it as “a gateway to something that he believed was larger.”

Kyle Hupfer, the chairman of the Indiana Republican Party, said that the “few economic development wins” and lowering unemployment rates in South Bend were down to “statewide economic strength under Republican leadership,” and that Buttigieg had “little, if anything” to do with any successes.

“I found it ironic that when he announced his presidential run, he did it in front of Studebaker Building 84, which had sat vacant since 1963. But it was $3.5 million from then-Gov. Mike Pence’s Regional Cities Initiative that made that project go,” Hupfer continued

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Hupfer added that 51% of South Bend residents in 2018 said they were neutral or dissatisfied with the “feeling of safety” in their neighborhoods.

“If you don’t feel safe and secure, it’s hard to get people to move there, it’s hard to get people to live there, and it’s hard to get jobs to grow there. I know I would much rather have 10 fewer homicides than a light display,” Hupfer argued.

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Let’s Listen to South Bend Residents!

Even the homeless in South Bend can’t stand Buttigieg. One homeless man said that if Buttigieg became president, then “you can bet you’ll see a lot more people like me around the country.”

Douglas Stebbins, 44, said that the homeless problem in the town “represents the kind of mayor Pete was, and the kind of president he’ll be if he beats Trump — ineffective at providing basic services for the people who need them the most.” Stebbins explained that it’s not because “he’s a bad guy; he means well. But he’s just too inexperienced to run an entire country, let alone a small city.”

I’d say this is rather conclusive. Buttigieg and the left always love to tell us to “listen to experts” and people with experience—well, the people of South Bend have had a lot of experience with Buttigieg, and they say to chuck him. I think we should listen to them, just as the left would want us to.

This piece originally appeared on ThePoliticalInsider.com and is used by permission.

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