Mayor Pete Buttigieg may not be the only LGBTQ political success story to come out of South Bend, Indiana. Attorney and civic leader Pat Hackett, who lives in South Bend with her spouse Rita, is running to be the member of Congress for the Hoosier State’s 2nd congressional district.
“I am running for Congress because the House of Representatives is supposed to be the People’s House, not the house of the monied few,” says Hackett. “As an attorney, teacher, and small business owner serving our community for decades, I understand the values that unite us in Northern Indiana. I understand that our nation’s creed is dignity and justice for all, not the few, and that our individual freedoms depend on a social contract that pursues the common good.”
Hackett has served on several boards, including the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, YWCA of St. Joseph County, and as a past president of Alzheimer’s Services of Northern Indiana and the Michiana Estate Planning Council. After working for bigger law firms, she opened Hackett & Associates in 2006, where she has deepened her career-long involvement in estate planning, family law, health care law, and advocacy as a trial attorney. She’s also an adjunct assistant professor at the Notre Dame Law School.
Hackett is running to address a wide variety of issues including racial justice, women’s equality, LGBTQ rights, immigration, gun safety, workers’ rights, health care and the opioid crisis.
“Health care is a right, not a privilege,” Hackett says. “The right to health care is rooted in our dignity as persons and responsibility for one another. I support universal health care coverage and believe we must move toward a Medicare for All system. It is time to assure health care coverage for all regardless of age, pre-existing conditions or economic status. The cost of health care is the leading cause of bankruptcy in America. We must decide if we want to be a country that prioritizes the health and life of its citizens over profits.”
For more information, please visit her campaign website.