#Walz has a long history of supporting #LGBTQIA+ rights. While teaching at #Mankato West High School in the 90s, he helped found its first #GayStraightAlliance group.

"You have an older, #White, #straight, #married, male #football coach who's deeply concerned that these students are treated fairly & that there is no #bullying," Walz said in a 2018 campaign ad.

he’s also a fmr US #Army noncommissioned officer who can pull off a camo hat at a news conference. & he’s the #teacher given the “Most #Inspiring” superlative in the #Mankato yearbook, who can effectively deliver an attack on #Republican opponents.

“When he said #Republicans were ‘#weird’ it struck me like, this works from Walz,” says Jake Jagdfeld, who played linebacker under Walz in the ’90s. “In politics he’s good at calling out BS w/o getting nasty or too down in the dirt.

In the mid-’90s, it was #Walz who offered to be the first faculty adviser to the newly formed #gay-straight alliance.

“The fact that he took on that role while also being the #FootballCoach was so important,” says Jacob Reitan, who was the first openly gay student at #Mankato West. “He set an example not just for #LGTBQ students but for football players in the locker room at a time where gay people were not well understood. He made the school a #safe place for everybody.”

#Walz arrived in #Minnesota in 1996, from his home state of #Nebraska, along w/his wife, Gwen, who got a job #teaching English at the same school. At #Mankato West, Mrs & Mr Walz were seen as powerhouse #teachers who balanced out each other’s energy-levels: she was more reserved, & he was a boisterous ball of energy.

…Walz quickly earned the reputation as a guy who could get the most out of people.

It’s not every day a former #PublicSchool #teacher ends up on a presidential ticket. But for the students & teachers who crossed paths w/ #TimWalz during his decade teaching in #Mankato — a midsize city south of #Minneapolis — it’s easy to look back now & see the signs that he could find himself in exactly that position.

#VoteBlue #HarrisWalz2024 #Harris2024
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/2024/08/02/tim-walz-kamala-harris/