There are however other things that made me have a complete turnaround on him like what is accounted in this thread
Some of this is pretty egregious
Alright, I keep seeing these stories about Pete getting posted and going mostly unchallenged so I'm gonna be the one to challenge them I guess. Now, I'm not gonna say these are just nothingburgers, because there are elements that aren't great for him regardless, but the way they're presented in these tweets is either lacking critical context at best or outright false at worst.
First, what IS true (and problematic) about his home demolition/rehab initiative:
1) It did disproportionately affect poor POC neighborhoods because that's where most of the derelict homes were located.
2) Code enforcement was overly aggressive in levying fines on people. Some well-meaning homeowners, especially early on in the initiative's timeline, were being slapped with fines that they could not afford to pay, and when the fines didn't get paid the homes were demolished.
3) Black city activists criticized the initiative for contributing to gentrification.
What is not true about it, or important context that does not get mentioned:
1)
This was not making people homeless. The initiative targeted
vacant and abandoned homes. The homeowners that lost homes did not live in them, they were holding on to them either as investments or to rehab them. Many of these homes were bought for dirt cheap prices (one reported example is someone who bought three properties in a county tax sale for $250 each) and then were left untouched by the owner.
2) These homes were a legitimate problem. South Bend's population has been shrinking for decades, which leads to lots of empty houses that have deteriorated and brought down the property values of everything surrounding them. Poor POC neighborhoods were, of course, the ones most affected by this problem as well. As Pete tells it, blighted homes were the #1 issue brought up to him while he was knocking on doors seeking votes.
3) Most of the demolished homes were straight up uninhabitable. They were not safe to live in and it would have cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to make them habitable.
4) Some of the more outspoken black city activists that criticized the initiative have praised Pete for taking their concerns seriously and changing course. The government contributed more resources to home repair whenever possible. One of them, Stacey Odom, requested an additional $300,000 in grants for home repair and Pete responded with $650,000. Earlier this year, the city announced it will increase spending on home repair to over $1 million, targeting those poor POC communities in particular.
What is true about the police tapes scandal:
1) Tapes were recorded involving several white police officers. The tapes are alleged to have contained racist content.
2) The black police chief allegedly threatened the police offers with the tapes, Pete demoted him, and the city has fought in court to prevent the tapes from being released.
What is not true, or important context that does not get mentioned:
1) Pete did not turn the police chief in to the FBI. The white police officers who were recorded did that. Pete learned about the tapes when federal prosecutors approached him and told him that if he didn't take action himself, they were prepared to indict the police chief.
2) The question was over whether or not the tapes violated wiretap laws. From what I understand, the reason that this is STILL going through the courts to this day is that no court has conclusively ruled on whether they do or not and whether the city can legally release the tapes. Pete hasn't listened to the tapes because he says he's unsure if he's even allowed to do so without committing a felony himself.