We Found the Coolest Populist in America, and He’s Running for U.S. Senate

[Judi Lynn]

We Found the Coolest Populist in America, and He’s Running for U.S. Senate

John Fetterman, mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, wants to fight for “legacy communities” and the soul of the Democratic Party

BY Kate Aronoff
February 29, 2016



John Fetterman, 46, has served as mayor of the hardscrabble Pittsburgh suburb of Braddock for over a decade. His tattoos (of the town’s zip code and the dates of its most recent murders) and his stature (nearly 7 feet) have drawn more attention than his politics. Re-elected twice by huge margins after winning his first run by one vote, the “coolest mayor in America,” as the Guardian dubbed him, is now vying with establishment Democrats for a U.S. Senate seat. While still an under-funded underdog, Fetterman is polling competitively: In head-to-head match-ups in October, he trailed Republican incumbent Pat Toomey by 7 points, and his Democratic competitors trailed Toomey by 7 and 3.

Fetterman, who is white, has led the charge to revitalize the mostly black Braddock, which was abandoned by industry in the 1970s. Nearly 40 percent of its households now fall below the poverty line. Except for its racial demographics, Braddock is typical of the struggling Rust Belt towns that may prove pivotal in this election. Some of Donald Trump’s biggest rallies have been staged in these “legacy communities,” drawing supporters still reeling from the Recession. Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, is hoping to rally the working class against the corporate interests that have deserted it. Like Sanders, Fetterman is in a battle for both the Democratic nomination and the soul of the party. Can he win over his state’s infamously conservative, mostly white center, by wooing the rural working-class voters that have fled the Democratic Party in droves? In These Times talked with Fetterman about Bernie, Braddock and 2016.

Why run for Senate?

When I was running a great GED pro- gram and enjoying a lot of success, two of my students were gunned down a couple weeks apart. And I couldn’t change that as a program director, so I ran for mayor. Now I want to have an impact the direction of this country that I can’t have as a mayor of a small community. The country needs a champion for the forgotten legacy cities. You see the horror that’s emerging in Flint, Michigan. Well, Braddock was no different. Every community needs a champion, and I want to be the champion for legacy cities like my own.

Between Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, this election season seems to be breaking every rule political scientists have written. Why do you think that is?

People are tired of prepackaged things. They want to go to a real restaurant, not TGI Fridays. Most political candidates are like TGI Fridays—franchises of what the party wants them to be. But we’re coming out with an authentic product. I’m coming from a community from the fringe of society that’s been written off. So we’re reminding Democratic voters what the party should stand for, what we with Democratic principles should fight for.

More:
http://inthesetimes.com/article/18890/john-fetterman-braddock-mayor-the-coolest-populist-in-america-senate-run

[femmocrat]

1. Wow, it's great to see Fetterman getting some exposure!

Thanks for the great article.

[elleng]

2. O'Malley Working Hard to Get Progressives Elected, Endorses John Fetterman for U.S. Senate

Koinos received this email, and posted it here, http://www.democraticunderground.com/12815615, in which Martin O'Malley endorses John Fetterman for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania:

Throughout my service as Mayor, as Governor and campaign for president, I never wavered on the need to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

I believe that our outdated and inhumane immigration laws no longer meet our economic needs, our national security imperatives, or most importantly, our values as a people.

I believe that we need to lead with the compassionate message and actions that have made us who we are: a nation of immigrants, bonded together by our diverse beliefs and traditions.

Immigration is what has made America, America.

And while much can be done by bold executive action, it is no substitute for Congressional action. We need leaders in Washington who will tirelessly stand up to the kind of hateful, misguided rhetoric we've seen thrown at the millions of New Americans and fight to forge consensus on an issue that has shaped this country.

I believe Braddock, Pennsylvania Mayor John Fetterman is that kind of leader, and that's why today, I am endorsing his campaign for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. He really needs our help, so click here to join his progressive campaign.

As Mayor of Braddock, PA for more than ten years, he's taken on the kinds of issues that are now at the forefront of the American conscience: income inequality, green jobs, access to health care and gun violence, to name just a few.

But John's wife Gisele has a remarkable story that is so emblematic of our experience as a country, and the work on immigration that lies before us. Like so many before her, she came to this country with her family from Brazil in search of a better life — fleeing a violent and unstable situation.

Her family overstayed their visa, and for years, she lived in the shadows undocumented while her mother cleaned houses for twelve hours a day. And while Gisele would eventually obtain her green card, it shouldn't have been that hard.

When John is asked about what he thought of Gisele and her family staying here illegally, I love his response: "I’m so glad she did."

It's time we approached the issue of immigration with humanity and an understanding of how we have all been shaped by it, directly or indirectly. Once again, we must remember that the enduring symbol of our nation isn't the barbed wire fence — it's the Statue of Liberty.

Please join me in supporting John's bid for the U.S. Senate. We need more leaders in Washington ready to embrace immigration reform, rather than running away from it.

Thank you,
Martin O'Malley


As he has done before, O'Malley will work hard to get progressive Democrats elected in 2016. O'Malley supporters have every reason to be proud.

[malthaussen]

3. "My campaign has released a one-sentence press release calling Donald Trump a jagoff"

Thank Whomever, I had just put my coffee cup down before I read that. Fetterman is the bomb.

And the rest of the country needs that word, IMO.

-- Mal

[bemildred]

4. Awesome.

Life uninterfered with or managed or mediated in any way by corporations.

[awoke_in_2003]

5. I remember him

good luck.