HASTINGS – Bud Pettigrew of Hastings knew Democratic Vice President candidate Tim Walz when they were growing up in Valentine.
Ironically, Pettigrew is also active in the Democratic Party.
“I went to high school with Tim in Valentine. He was a freshman when I was a senior. He was on the football team with me,” Pettigrew said. “His sister Sandy was in my class (1979). I have spent some time since 2010 doing some political things with him.
Pettigrew said that Walz’s father was the school superintendent in Valentine.
“That was his last year in Valentine (1979). He got cancer, and they moved to Butte. The family was from that area. Tim graduated from Butte in 1982. His Dad died I believe in 1983,” Pettigrew said.
“Tim is an excellent choice to be our new vice president. He is very knowledgeable. Extremely smart. He likes people. He is very down to earth. He knows and cares about the consequences of government decisions. I have talked to Tim a few times since we both got involved in politics. He is a normal everyday person who loves America and will honor his oath to her,” Pettigrew said.
Pettigrew said that Walz is very smart, caring, and willing to learn. He “will change his mind if he learns new things that warrant change. He is a very hard worker. He is a great example of the American dream,” Pettigrew said.
Walz is an example “that you don’t have to be an elite super rich person to make it to the top. Nor do you have to destroy your opponent to get things done.”
Walz was born in West Point and grew up in Valentine. During his sophomore year in high school, his family moved to Butte. Shortly before graduating from high school in 1982, he enlisted in the Nebraska Army National Guard. He served in the Army National Guard for 24 years.
Walz is a graduate of Chadron State College with a bachelor of science degree in social science education.
He then taught in China for one year after graduating from college. He returned to Nebraska, where he taught and coached at Alliance. He met his wife, also a high school teacher, in Alliance. They were married in 1994 and moved to her home state of Minnesota in 1996.
He has served as governor of Minnesota since 2019. From 2007 to 2019, he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Pettigrew has been recommending that Walz be selected as the vice presidential candidate.
“I am one of the vice chairs for National Security Leaders 4 America. (NSL4A). We are a mixture of veterans, presidential appointees, ambassadors, flag officers, etc. We are a pro-democracy group and very anti-Trump. We pushed the campaign to pick Tim. We also got on the blogs” and wrote editorials in his favor. Pettigrew said a lot of lobbying was done by phone.
“It paid off,” he said.
Pettigrew has been active in the Nebraska Democratic Party for quite some time.
“Right now, I don’t have a role with the Nebraska Democratic Party. From 2008 to 2022, I was the Chair of Chairs, which meant I was the Chair of all County Chairs,” he said.
“I have been a National Delegate in 2012 and 2020. I was the Whip Captain for the Nebraska Biden National delegation. I am now on the Veterans Advisory Board for the Harris Walz campaign, so I will be busy in Chicago at the Convention and throughout the campaign,” he said.
Pettigrew is basically retired.
“But in September 2021 President Biden appointed me to be one of the Commissioners of the American Battle Monuments Commission. It’s not governed by the Hatch Act. So I can be involved in the campaign,” Pettigrew said. He is a vice chair of the National Security Leaders 4 America.
Pettigrew, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, said, “I am just very excited that a fellow veteran will be the next Vice President of the United States.”
