On whirlwind Tulsa trip, Buttigieg draws hundreds to boost Democrat causes

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg spent last weekend in Tulsa rallying local Democrats to stay civically engaged and support preserving Medicaid expansion and other key issues scheduled to come before Oklahoma voters this summer. 

“I’m here because I think there are a lot more people than you might believe who actually have a pretty strong agreement about where we could be going, not just what’s wrong,” Buttigieg, a 2020 presidential candidate, told the crowd at a town hall in the Will Rogers Middle School and High School gym Saturday night.

“If you’re frustrated with what you’re paying at the store, if you’re frustrated with a foreign war that we shouldn’t even be in, if you believe in better leadership, you think wages ought to be higher, costs ought to be lower, Medicaid ought to be protected — there are so many people who think as you do, and you should make your voice heard,” he added.  

The town hall was the centerpiece of Buttigieg’s whirlwind trip to Tulsa, part of a series of visits he is making to cities in the middle of the U.S. The city gave the Democratic Party leader a warm welcome. 

Big turnout, with hopes for big impact

The town hall drew a large turnout from Tulsa and across Oklahoma. The line to enter the event at Will Rogers High School stretched around the building. Some waited for more than two hours to be seated, and the room was packed to capacity with more than 500 attendees. During his presentation, the audience gave Buttigieg more than two dozen ovations.

“I am here because we need a change,” said Binaya Thapa, a Tulsa oil and gas executive who was in the audience. “And Buttigieg seems to be one of the people who can bring that change.”

“My hope is that this event encourages people to get out and vote, and to support democratic causes,” added attendee Ann Thompson.

During the two-hour event, Buttigieg fielded more than a dozen questions from the audience on topics ranging from improving compensation for Tulsa public school teachers to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.

A callout to national leaders

One question that resonated throughout the crowd was how to get the Democratic National Committee to embrace issues important to Oklahomans rather than treating Oklahoma as a flyover state. Rosie Lynch, a Democratic candidate for House District 16, was the questioner. 

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said he fully understood the sentiment. 

“I got involved in national politics, and one of the reasons I ran for chair of the DNC was that I saw the party just didn’t seem to be paying attention to small communities,” Buttigieg told the crowd.

Besides the town hall, Buttigieg appeared on a Saturday afternoon panel of north Tulsa community leaders organized by the Terence Crutcher Foundation at Vernon AME Church in Greenwood. 

Buttigieg’s push to boost voter turnout

He voiced support for issues affecting north Tulsa. As transportation secretary, Buttigieg supported an initiative to move or demolish the bridge over I-244 that bisects the Greenwood District. 

Legislation was passed calling for that issue to be researched, Buttgieg told The Oklahoma Eagle. “Whoever is president should follow the law and follow through on that,” he said. 

At a press conference following the town hall, Buttigieg encouraged Oklahomans to get to the polls for the June 16 and Aug. 25 elections. He pinpointed a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in June. He also mentioned a possible statute that would remove Medicaid expansion from the state constitution.

“These votes that are coming up are going to be critically important to your future,” he said. “So people should vote.”