Steve Adler, Christopher Cabaldon, Nan Whaley and Sly James

Opinion contributors

As we face unprecedented challenges, America needs leadership in Washington that gets things done. That’s why we need a great mayor in the White House.

We are more than 50 mayors across the country — from Santa Monica, California, to Topeka, Kansas, to Hartford, Connecticut — who know that an executive with vision and proven ability to get results is the key to a bright future for our nation. We see exactly that in Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

South Bend is a quintessential American city, with big challenges and ever bigger opportunities. It remains close-knit — people stop Pete on the street, give him ideas and feedback, and hold him accountable for everything from potholes to racial justice.

We have watched Mayor Pete over the past eight years, as his steady and inspired leadership has revitalized his city. It was no surprise to us when his constituents reelected him with 80% of the vote. Pete has transformed South Bend, and now he is showing what American leadership can and should be in the years ahead.

South Bend is Buttigieg's success story

First, Mayor Pete puts practical solutions over partisan ideology. For mayors, politics isn’t a blood sport. While inaction and gridlock are the norm in Washington, mayors don’t have the option to kick the can down the road. Our residents expect electricity when they flip the switch, clean water from their taps and trash picked up regularly. It would be unthinkable for a mayor like Pete to shut down the government because of a petty ideological disagreement.

The Gospel of Pete:Mayor Pete Buttigieg's countercultural approach to Christianity is what America needs now

Pete’s vision for Medicare For All Who Want It is a great example of advancing progressive goals with a commitment to achieving results. By giving every American the choice to walk away from their private insurance and into a public alternative, Pete’s plan will make health care more affordable and universal while trusting Americans to do what’s right for them. While others may focus on what sounds good, Pete has always been about what works well.

Second, Mayor Pete looks forward, not back. Like many of us, he comes from a heartland city decimated by automation and globalization. Pete carries South Bend’s history with him, but he also knows that neither South Bend nor our country can return to the past. Instead, he has helped shepherd his community through a dramatic turnaround. Anyone who visits his city can see firsthand that it is growing and innovating, and that unemployment is falling.

Pete knows that we need to focus on the long term, including 21st century threats like climate change. South Bend itself has seen two historic floods during his tenure, and Pete's administration has worked to make the city more resilient in the floods' wake. Pete’s new climate change proposal is exactly what you’d expect from a mayor. It’s bold enough to meet this crisis, but with its focus on enlisting everyone from farmers to the military, it’s also unifying enough to actually get done.

Third, Mayor Pete is deeply invested in making sure every American is heard and feels they belong — especially in marginalized communities. Mayors in diverse cities don’t see people as abstract categories. We see them as our pediatricians, Little League volunteers, the retired letter carrier who says hi to our kids — and act accordingly.

Mayor Pete, the role model

While Washington has ignored or exacerbated our immigration crisis, Pete created a municipal ID card so that undocumented residents could open bank accounts and fill prescriptions. And because Pete knows that population growth is the key to economic growth, his plan for rural America would provide Community Renewal Visas to bring immigrants to communities in need of revitalization.

In the wake of a tragic officer-involved shooting in South Bend, we have seen Pete engage in an honest dialogue about the shadow of racism. And he has backed up his words with concrete plans. His Douglass Plan is arguably the most comprehensive plan any candidate has offered to start dismantling systemic racism and directly invest in black Americans. It puts forward ambitious-yet-attainable goals — from tripling the number of entrepreneurs from underserved backgrounds, to creating health equity zones to cutting incarceration by 50%.

Why the swing states swung:Andrew Yang gets why Donald Trump won. He won't be president but he deserves attention.

Finally, Pete understands the power of moral leadership. Mayors are walking symbols of their cities. When we cut a ribbon at a new factory, or comfort a grieving parent whose child was lost to gun violence, we are showing the people we represent that their community stands with them. That kind of empathetic leadership is desperately needed in the Oval Office.

For all these reasons, Mayor Pete has become a role model — and in some cases, a mentor — to mayors like us. We endorse him from heartland towns, coastal cities, suburban communities and every other corner of our great country. What’s more, in the spirit of the community of mayors, we are already offering Pete our best ideas and helping engage grassroots supporters all across the country.

We’re proud to stand together as "Mayors for Pete," and hope you’ll join us in supporting this bold and unifying leader who will help us write a better future.

The mayors endorsing Pete Buttigieg include: Steve Adler (Austin, Texas), Nan Whaley (Dayton, Ohio), Christopher Cabaldon (West Sacramento, California), Justin Flippen (Wilton Manors, Florida), Christine Hunchsofsky (Parkland, Florida), Dean Trantalis (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), Betsy Hodges (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Annise Parker (Houston, Texas), Rob Moon (Palm Springs, California), John D’Amico (West Hollywood, California), Luke Bronin (Hartford, Connecticut), Liz Alpert (Sarasota, Florida), Michelle De La Isla (Topeka, Kansas), Jim Gray (Lexington, Kentucky), Patrick Wojahn (College Park, Maryland), John Cranley (Cincinnati, Ohio), Ian Baltutis (Burlington, North Carolina), John Hamilton (Bloomington, Indiana), Jacob Day (Salsbury, Maryland), Zach Vruwink (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin), Matt Shorraw (Monessen, Pennsylvania), Breea Clark (Norman, Oklahoma), Gabriel Quinto (El Cerrito, California), Joe Signorello (Roselle Park, New Jersey), John Harabedian (Sierra Madre, California), Mark Kleinschmidt (Chapel Hill, North Carolina), Layla Walz (Wells, Nevada), Lydia Lavelle (Carrboro, North Carolina), Suzanne Prentis (Lebanon, New Hampshire), Ross Swords, Jr (Brownsville, Pennsylvania), Leirion Gaylor Baird (Lincoln, Nebraska), Kristopher Larsen (Nederland, Colorado), Noam Bramson (New Rochelle, New York), Steve Hagerty (Evanston, Illinois), David Berger (Lima, Ohio), Tari Renner (Bloomington, Illinois), Sly James (Kansas City, Missouri), Andy Berke (Chattanooga, Tennessee), Daniel Yost (Woodside, California), Ted Ellis (Bluffton, Indiana), Hugh Wirth (Oakland City, Indiana), Ron Strouse (Doylestown, Pennsylvania), Beth Bashert (Ypsilanti, Michigan), Duane Rosenberg (New Carrollton, Maryland), Shawn Raup-Konsavage (Bernville, Pennsylvania), Dave Kitchell (Logansport, Indiana), Rosalynn Bliss (Grand Rapids, Michigan), Tom McDermott (Hammond, Indiania), Henry Schwaller (Hays, Kansas), Greg Goodnight (Kokomo, Indiana), Mark Barbee (Bridgeport, Pennsylvania), Jim Carruthers (Traverse City, Michigan), Gleam Davis (Santa Monica, California), Ryan Arndorfer (Britt, Iowa), Brent Bascom (Rising Sun, Indiana), Gay Ann Harney (Rockport, Indiana), Ron Meer (Michigan City, Indiana), Gabriel Greer (Peru, Indiana).