(ConservativeStar.com) – Pete Buttigieg’s political experience is limited to being mayor of South Bend, Indiana, with a population of about 100,000 — as his opponents during the Democratic Party’s primary season quickly and often pointed out. Joe Biden was among them and is now putting together a dream team for his cabinet should he be declared the winner of the election. Said team now includes “Mayor Pete” as the secretary of Transportation.
But is he really a good choice for this important position?
Pete’s Plan
While he was mayor, his “Smart Streets” initiative intended to change traffic patterns for both vehicles and pedestrians and to revitalize their downtown area. Based on a 2015 study of then-existing data, the contractor recommended removing several stop lights/crosswalk signs around the city.
The recommendation was accepted, and on February 1, 2016, several traffic lights were deactivated and were physically bagged at the intersections in question. Because of community concerns over safety issues, the Board of Public Works decided in August of that year to replace some of them.
Tragedy Strikes
One of the intersections involved was at Michigan and South streets, where two young brothers regularly crossed to get to the bus they would take to school. Unfortunately for the boys, Mayor Pete didn’t act quickly enough, and 11-year-old Tristian Moore lost his life when he was struck by an SUV in full view of his 8-year-old sibling in January 2017.
Buttigieg was, of course, questioned by the public and the media and instead of acknowledging the role his decisions contributed to the death, he chose the tactic of shifting the blame… on to these young children. His lame explanation for the accident was that the children “darted across the street, at an angle, and one of them, outside the crosswalk…”
The idea of putting a man who could not comprehend the traffic issues of a middling sized city at the head of the Department of Transportation for the entirety of the United States of America seems ludicrous to many. Perhaps that’s not surprising considering the character of the man who hopes to take the reins of the whole thing.
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