Chasten Buttigieg

Chasten James Buttigieg ( /ˈbuːtɪdʒədʒ/ BOOT-ih-jəj; né Glezman; born June 23, 1989) is an American teacher, writer, LGBTQ rights advocate and husband to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. He was an advisor, spokesperson, and social media campaigner during his husband’s 2020 presidential campaign. In September 2020, Buttigieg released his debut memoir, I Have Something to Tell You.

Chasten Buttigieg
Buttigieg in 2020
Born
Chasten James Glezman

(1989-06-23) June 23, 1989
Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.
EducationNorthwestern Michigan College
University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (BA)
DePaul University (MEd)
OccupationTeacher, writer, LGBTQ rights advocate
Notable work
I Have Something to Tell You (2020)
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2018)​

Early life and education

Buttigieg was born on June 23, 1989 in Traverse City, Michigan, to Sherri (née Pelon) and Terry Glezman, owners of a landscaping business.[1][2] The youngest of three brothers, he was raised in Chums Corner in a conservative Roman Catholic family.[2][3] As a teenager, Buttigieg worked at Cherry Republic, a cherry-products store, and drove tractors on his grandfather's cherry farm in Suttons Bay. One year, he won a blue ribbon in pit spitting at the National Cherry Festival.[4]

Buttigieg attended Traverse City West Senior High School and spent his senior year as an exchange student in Germany. He took classes at Northwestern Michigan College before attending the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire;[5] he graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor's degree in theater and global studies. [6] Later, Buttigieg attended DePaul University in Chicago where he received a Master of Education in 2017.[7] That summer, Buttigieg began a AMS/MACTE certificate from Xavier University.[8]

Career

After graduating from college, Buttigieg moved to Milwaukee, where he worked as a Teaching Artist for First Stage as well as in classroom settings in the greater Milwaukee area.[9]

While pursuing his graduate degree, he was a substitute teacher in both Chicago and South Bend public schools. In fall 2017, Buttigieg began as a junior high humanities teacher at the Montessori Academy in Mishawaka, Indiana.[8][10] He also teaches theater and runs a diversity club.[5] He took a leave of absence to support his husband's campaign.[11] In January 2019, Buttigieg joined the Civic Education Team of the South Bend Civic Theatre as the Director of Curriculum.[12]

In 2016, Buttigieg was a State Democratic Delegate for St. Joseph County.[13] He was the first gentleman of South Bend, Indiana from June 16, 2018 to January 1, 2020.[14]

2020 presidential election
Main article: Pete Buttigieg 2020 presidential campaign

Buttigieg was a campaign spokesperson,[15] advisor,[16] and social media campaigner for his husband Pete Buttigieg's campaign[17] and has been a surrogate too. He was called Pete's “not-so-secret public-relations weapon.”[18] If his husband was elected, he had identified improving the nation's public schools, arts education, and mental health as the areas he would have focused on as First Gentleman.[19] He also supports LGBTQ rights.[20][21]

After his husband's withdrawal from the race, both endorsed Joe Biden and campaigned for him.[22][23][24] Pete Buttigieg ended up placing fifth in terms of number of delegates.[23] Since the campaign, Buttigieg now considers Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff close friends.[25]

Post-presidential campaign

Buttigieg was a Harvard Institute of Politics Fellow for the fall 2020 virtual semester.[26] On September 1, 2020, Buttigieg released his debut memoir, I Have Something to Tell You.[22][18][2] The hardcover edition debuted at number 12 on The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover non-fiction.[27] In December 2020, Buttigieg criticized Joseph Epstein's op-ed about Jill Biden's academic credentials, calling it sexist.[28]

Personal life

Buttigieg came out to his family at 18 and soon moved out, living with friends and in his car.[5] In 2020, Buttigieg shared in his memoir that he was sexually assaulted by a friend of a friend when he was 18. The experience left him feeling ashamed for years.[29] He now has a good relationship with his parents.[5]

Buttigieg lives in South Bend with his husband, politician and U.S. Navy veteran Pete Buttigieg.[30][31] The two first met on the dating app Hinge in summer 2015. They met that August while Chasten was in graduate school.[32] They got engaged in December 2017 at O'Hare International Airport and married on June 16 next year, at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. James in South Bend; the two appeared at the South Bend Gay Pride block party following their nuptials.[3][33][34]

Buttigieg has performed improv comedy in and around the Chicago area.[3]

Published works

References
  1. McCarthy, Ellen (May 2, 2019). "Chasten Buttigieg has been a homeless community-college student and a Starbucks barista. Now, he could be 'first gentleman.'". Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  2. Bedwell, Michael (September 12, 2020). "Chasten Buttigieg's new book is a frank discussion of growing up gay in middle America". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  3. Trebay, Guy (June 18, 2018). "Pete Buttigieg Might Be President Someday. He's Already Got the First Man". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  4. Oosting, Jonathan (July 29, 2019). "Buttigieg brings Michigan husband, Midwest roots to Democratic race". The Detroit News. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  5. Human Rights Campaign (April 6, 2019), Chasten Buttigieg Speaks at the 2019 HRC Houston Dinner, retrieved April 15, 2019
  6. Lindquist, Eric (May 21, 2019). "University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire graduate in spotlight as nation's potential first gentleman". LaCrosse Tribune. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  7. "Faculty and Staff". www.tma-el.org. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  8. "Weekly Memo" (PDF). Montessori Academy Edison Lakes. May 23, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  9. First Stage Academy (Fall 2012). "Faculty and Staff" (PDF). In Focus: News from the Academy. 2: 6.
  10. Mack, Justin (April 9, 2019). "Chasten Buttigieg: What we know about Mayor Pete's husband". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  11. "Chasten Buttigieg: The rising star of 2020 candidates' spouses". CNN. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  12. Desk, BWW News. "South Bend Civic Theatre Hires Chasten Buttigieg And Kristen Campbell For Education Department Positions". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  13. "The Indiana State Democratic Party 2016 Hoosier Hospitality Dinner & State Convention" (PDF). 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  14. "Chasten Buttigieg Could Be The First Gentleman And America Loves Him". EBLnews. April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019. According to Business Insider, the first gentleman of South Bend has become a social media sweetheart in his own right.
  15. Steinhauser, Paul (April 22, 2019). "Meet the 2020 spouses: The high-powered men and women behind the candidates". Fox News. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  16. Gangitano, Alex (April 27, 2019). "Chasten Buttigieg emerges as Mayor Pete's secret weapon". The Hill. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  17. Weiss, Joanna (March 29, 2019). "Chasten Buttigieg Is Winning the 2020 Spouse Primary". Politico. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  18. Petrow, Steven (August 31, 2020). "Chasten Buttigieg's 'I Have Something to Tell You' is refreshingly candid, but a missed opportunity". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  19. Relman, Eliza (April 19, 2019). "Meet Chasten Buttigieg, Pete Buttigieg's husband, who is a junior high school teacher, a dog dad, and very online". Business Insider. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  20. Igoe, Katherine (April 17, 2019). "Chasten Buttigieg, Mayor Pete's Husband, Just Gave His First Major Interview". Marie Claire. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  21. Zavaleta, Lourdes (September 13, 2019). "Chasten Buttigieg Visited Montrose Center Prior to Dem Debate". OutSmart Magazine. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  22. Oliver, David (August 31, 2020). "Chasten Buttigieg talks Biden, quarantine and new memoir: 'I wanted to write my real story'". USA Today. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  23. Bowden, John (August 31, 2020). "Chasten Buttigieg to talk husband's presidential bid, coronavirus in new memoir". The Hill. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3Ts7J_hFeM
  25. Ring, Trudy (December 16, 2020). "Buttigieg Speaks on His Historic Cabinet Role, Proposing to Chasten". Advocate. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  26. Yu, Sixiao (August 25, 2020). "Advocate Chasten Buttigieg, Attorney Jorge Vazquez Jr. Among Institute of Politics Fellows For Virtual Fall Semester". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  27. "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Sept. 20, 2020 - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  28. Crump, James (December 17, 2020). "Who is Pete Buttigieg's husband Chasten?". The Independent. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  29. Holmes, Juwan J. (February 23, 2020). "Chasten Buttigieg opens up about being sexually assaulted & meeting Pete on dating app". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  30. "Meet Pete – Pete For America". peteforamerica.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  31. Laris, Michael; Duncan, Ian; Kim, Seung Min. "Biden to name Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  32. Carlson, Adam (April 22, 2019). "How Gay Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Met Husband on Hinge and Had 'Ridiculous' First Date". People. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  33. Doster, Adam. "The President of Nowhere, USA". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  34. Groppe, Maureen (December 16, 2020). "Thanks to Pete Buttigieg, O'Hare Airport is now calling itself a 'place of romance'". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
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