Buttigieg removes attorney from fundraiser after backlash

WASHINGTON >> Pete Buttigieg is returning campaign contributions from a former Chicago city attorney who led a vigorous effort to block the release of a video depicting the shooting of Laquan McDonald , a black teenager whose death at the hands of police stirred months of protest and resulted in an officer’s conviction.

The Democratic presidential candidate also removed Steve Patton as a co-sponsor of a fundraiser held in Chicago on Friday. The move came after The Associated Press reported on his involvement in the event, which provoked a fierce online backlash directed at Buttigieg.

“I believe very strongly that transparency and justice for Laquan McDonald is a lot more important than a campaign contribution,” Buttigieg said later during an interview with David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama.

Until the uproar, Buttigieg’s campaign had declined to comment on Patton’s involvement. Patton led Chicago’s law department under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

For months, Buttigieg has faced criticism over his handling of race as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, a city with a history of segregation where decades of simmering tension erupted this summer when a white police officer shot and killed an African American man. Despite Buttigieg’s promise to “do better,” his handling of the fundraiser demonstrates his sometimes awkward efforts to improve his standing in the black community, which is a crucial segment of the Democratic electorate.

“He should adjust his schedule,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson said when asked about the fundraiser earlier this week and before Buttigieg’s campaign decided to cut ties with Patton.

The Chicago civil rights icon, whose guidance Buttigieg sought amid the unrest over the South Bend police shooting, said he has a high opinion of the White House hopeful but felt he “should be made aware” that Patton’s participation would be a problem.

Even before the South Bend shooting this summer, Buttigieg has struggled to address his record on race as mayor. Critics, including many residents, have blasted him for firing the city’s first black police chief shortly after taking office, for prioritizing South Bend’s downtown over its neighborhoods and for issues of housing, crime and inequality.