1. Ed Fallon is an American activist, former politician, talk show host, author and urban farmer from the State of Iowa.
25 Facts About Ed Fallon
1. 2.
Ed Fallon was previously a Democratic candidate for Governor of Iowa and the US Congress, and served as a member of the Iowa General Assembly from 1993 to 2006.
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The son of a member of the US military, Fallon was born in Santa Monica, California in 1958, but spent the majority of his formative years living in Saugus, Massachusetts.
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Ed Fallon worked as a field canvasser for Iowa Citizen Action Network during this period.
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Ed Fallon admitted in 2001 that, while people's frustration with the Democratic Party was legitimate, his decision to back Nader was a mistake.
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The leaders of the Iowa Democratic Party, angered at Ed Fallon's actions, stripped him of his place as ranking member of the House Local Government Committee.
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In October 2002, after progressive Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash, Ed Fallon decided that he wanted to emulate Wellstone's impact on his state's politics by running for Governor.
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Ed Fallon was in favor of creating a locally owned renewable fuels industry, universal health care, reforming the Departments of Human Services and Corrections, ending government handouts to big business, and increased funding for public education.
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On November 10,2006, three days after the midterm elections, during which candidates that Ed Fallon had campaigned for were elected Governor, Secretary of State, and to the state legislature and the United States Congress, he announced in an e-mail to supporters that he would take a hiatus from electoral politics, during which he would form a new political activist organization, dedicated to social justice, clean elections, and encouraging local and state action to address global warming.
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On December 28,2006, Ed Fallon appeared in Des Moines at the first official presidential campaign event of former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, taking tickets and passing out Edwards campaign literature.
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On January 11,2007, Ed Fallon announced in an e-mail to supporters that he had co-founded a private business called "Independence Movement for Iowa," or I'M for Iowa.
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On January 8,2008, Ed Fallon formally filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Congress.
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Ed Fallon formally announced his candidacy in a press conference in Des Moines on January 16,2008.
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Media reports noted that Ed Fallon carried the 3rd District in the 2006 gubernatorial primary, and examination of the caucus results shows that John Edwards, whom Ed Fallon endorsed, did much better in the district than did Senator Hillary Clinton, whom Boswell endorsed.
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Ed Fallon was defeated by Boswell in the Democratic primary on June 3,2008, by a 61 to 39 percent margin.
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Ed Fallon was arrested with a number of others on October 8,2011, on the Iowa Capitol grounds when police broke up the Occupy Des Moines encampment, part of the Occupy Movement.
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Ed Fallon was found not guilty of trespassing by a jury on March 9,2012.
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On March 1,2013, Ed Fallon announced the start of a campaign aimed at inspiring society to take action on climate change.
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On March 2,2015, Ed Fallon began a 400-mile hike along the then-proposed Dakota Access pipeline in Keokuk, to protest and rally support for farmers, landowners, and Indigenous people affected by the plan.
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Ed Fallon was found refusing to leave as he protested the Dakota Access pipeline.
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Ed Fallon was escorted off the premises and charged with criminal trespassing.
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In January 2016, Ed Fallon hosted a "Climate Emergency Caucus" in Des Moines before the Iowa caucuses, which simulated the state's 2016 Democratic presidential primary caucus.
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Ed Fallon endorsed Sanders for president, and spoke publicly in his favor in advance of the Iowa caucuses.
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Since its formation in 2016, Ed Fallon has served as the director of Bold Iowa.
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Ed Fallon wrote his first book, Marcher, Walker, Pilgrim, published in 2018.