Driving for Pete (Part 1)

I’m not sure how it happened, but I was given the opportunity to be a driver for Pete Buttigieg’s campaign team in Las Vegas. I had originally volunteered to canvass neighborhoods in advance of the primary caucus but received an email asking if I was interested in also driving for the campaign. I replied yes and sent in my background information for vetting. I figured I’d be driving around other volunteers or local supporters in my own car. I was surprised when I received instructions to pick up a black SUV and then meet Pete and his team at the executive terminal of McCarran Airport. I spent the next six days driving for Pete from one campaign event to another.

We traveled in two black Chevy Suburbans, Pete in the front vehicle with his security guy and whomever he was working most closely with for the next event. I followed driving the second vehicle with Pete’s campaign team members. The driving took some skill and concentration. I had to keep up right behind Pete’s vehicle, often in heavy traffic, so as not to get separated or lost. When we arrived at a venue, we had to navigate to a specific drop-off point and then situate the vehicles and keep them secure for a quick departure. That required sizing up the surrounding area and its exit routes and positioning the vehicles near the designated pick up spot.  Sometimes it felt like I was playing at being a Secret Service agent, which was fun.

Being a driver offered me a backstage view of Pete’s presidential campaign and of him as a candidate and person. My impression of Pete is that he is a focused, driven, intelligent, sincere and humble man. I was impressed by his presence and charisma on stage at public events where his main message is about belonging – serving and unifying a diverse nation. I watched him unload his own luggage from his modest campaign plane late at night after a long, four-city sweep through Nevada and Utah. I watched him roll his eyes and chuckle at himself for trying to get into the wrong vehicle (mine), twice. I saw a human being working really hard trying to offer Americans a youthful, moderate, rational choice for a leader. Not seasoned, not sophisticated, but articulate, thoughtful, hopeful and sincere.

Most of the time I drove for Pete’s travel team, a handful of smart, capable young people in their late 20’s to mid 30’s who handle local logistics, press and public relations. They are committed, energetic and highly competitive, yet also very down-to-earth, friendly and collegial. I felt a bit grey and old hanging out with them, but they welcomed me and made me feel a part of the team. I also drove some of Pete’s senior advisors, highly experienced, highly capable men and women that craft policy, strategy and communications in a very dynamic, fast-paced environment. They are intense but also personable and I enjoyed providing my two-cents worth of analysis during discussions in the car. The professionalism and talent of Pete’s campaign team is definitely up to what’s required for a serious presidential campaign, yet their down-to-earth friendliness and camaraderie sometimes made me feel like we were out there just doing our best and having fun.

I quickly learned that as a driver for a presidential candidate, you need to eat and use the rest room whenever you get the chance. Events typically don’t last very long and there isn’t much wiggle room in the travel time between them. When we stopped at the Tropicana for a big “meet the candidates” Democratic party fundraiser, I figured I had time to make a much-needed pit stop. I got let in a back door by a security guard who gave me directions to the men’s room, which turned out to be a quite a long walk away. After finding it, I needed to hustle back to the car quickly, ducking and dodging my way through the crowded foyer. As I approached the exit door, I saw a gaggle of older people blocking my patch. I started working my way, rather aggressively, through them, nearly bumping into the back of a guy with white hair wearing a blue suit. The guy turned out to be Joe Biden, whom I’m glad I didn’t bump into.  This was my first backstage encounter with a candidate other than Pete, but would not be my last.

More to come in Part 2 of this story.