President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, received help from Domino’s Pizza to fix potholes in his city while he was the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
South Bend, which some residents say had the “worst pothole situation” in the state, received a $5,000 grant from the pizza chain as part of the “Paving for Pizza” campaign in 2019.
Domino’s gave out one grant for every state, and South Bend, where Buttigieg was the mayor from 2012 to 2020, was chosen as Indiana’s recipient after customers were asked to nominate specific towns.
South Bend’s city engineer said at the time that 22,000 potholes were filled each year as part of an annual city budget of $90,000 dedicated to repairing the roads.
In 2018, the South Bend Tribune reported that some of the town’s roads had become “virtually impassable” due to potholes. Local auto mechanics and tire shop owners added that the situation was the worst it had been in at least 10 years.
“It’s been insane,” one tire store owner told the paper, adding that one day, she stepped out to get pizza for her employees, and seven cars had come to the shop with tire problems by the time she returned.
Democrat James Mueller, who succeeded Buttigieg as mayor in 2020, included fixing the roads as part of his platform.
“I will commit to improving the city’s response times to road hazards like potholes and seek new materials that will last longer through our harsh weather conditions,” Mueller pledged.
A report earlier this year showed Buttigieg’s office expressing interest in using city resources to repave the road in front of his own home, even though the road condition had been deemed to be in good condition.
This week, Buttigieg was announced as Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Transportation after months of speculation that the former mayor and 2020 presidential candidate would be given a position in a Biden administration.
“Innovation in transportation helped build my hometown, and it propels our country,” Buttigieg tweeted following the announcement. “Now is the time to build back better through modern and sustainable infrastructure that creates millions of good-paying union jobs, revitalizes communities, and empowers all Americans to thrive.”
Innovation in transportation helped build my hometown, and it propels our country.
Now is the time to build back better through modern and sustainable infrastructure that creates millions of good-paying union jobs, revitalizes communities, and empowers all Americans to thrive.
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) December 16, 2020
The appointment has drawn criticism from conservatives, as well as Democrats, over Buttigieg’s qualifications to serve in that role.
The Biden transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
“Buttigieg revitalized a city that had been struggling for decades after the Studebaker auto company collapsed and was once called one of America’s ‘dying cities.'” Biden’s transition team website reads. “He brought South Bend back from the brink, creating thousands of jobs and spurring local investment during his tenure. His ‘Smart Streets’ initiative helped change the fortunes of downtown South Bend — revitalizing the city, redesigning the streets, and bringing in major economic investment.”
