Crucial midterm elections are little more than a month away. Can individuals make an impact? "Paul for Pete" author Paul Mason Barnes says yes. He shows it in his book — in great detail — and gives advice on first steps to get involved on this week's Out in the Bay Queer Radio + Podcast.
"When I first heard that he was really seriously considering a run," said Barnes of Pete Buttigieg, "I thought, wow, that's fantastic! An openly gay mayor from South Bend, Indiana." But his next thought, he writes in his book, was "Not a snowball's chance in hell."
Barnes served on Buttigieg's groundbreaking 2020 presidential campaign and chronicled his experiences in "Paul for Pete: Politics. Theatre. Life. One Man's Adventures (Or, How I Became A Septuagenarian Fanboy)." His passion and that of many other volunteers swept Buttigieg into the national limelight.
Before joining Buttigieg's campaign, Barnes told Out in the Bay founder Eric Jansen, he had to reconsider his earlier assessment. "We elected a Black president twice by overwhelming popular vote margins. We elected a female candidate [by] overwhelming margin popular vote, and then this failed real estate developer became our president," Barnes reasoned, referring to Republican Donald Trump defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016. "So clearly to me, anything was possible in American politics."
Barnes shares his adventure of trying to get Mayor Pete to the White House — while an active, cross-country traveling theater director, and with his husband suffering a stroke during the campaign. With the midterms coming up November 8, Barnes hopes to inspire others to get involved at the grassroots level by showing that individuals can make a difference.
Although not elected, Buttigieg did make it to the White House. He now serves as President Joe Biden's secretary of transportation and is the first openly LGBTQ person to be confirmed to a Cabinet position.
"Paul for Pete" is also a memoir that delves into Barnes' long theater career, the trajectory of his life as an openly gay man — from before the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York through the AIDS pandemic and into marriage equality — and his 47-year relationship with husband, Jim Edmondson, a founding member of Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Barnes credits their partnership's longevity in part to one of their key rules: "We always say yes to each other's opportunities."
Hear more from Paul Mason Barnes on this week's Out in the Bay. It airs 6:30 p.m. Thursday, September 29, on KSFP, 102.5 FM San Francisco only; 5 p.m. Friday, September 30, on KALW, 91.7 FM SF Bay Area-wide; and again at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, October 1, on KSFP. It is always available on Out in the Bay's website.
Eric Jansen is founding host and executive producer of Out in the Bay Queer Radio + Podcast. Christopher J. Beale is a queer independent radio host, producer and journalist who frequently contributes to Out in the Bay, the B.A.R. and KQED. Learn more and listen here.
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