Ed Fallon for Congress

Name:	Ed Fallon for Congress
Office:	IA-03
Website:	fallonforcongress.com/

Background:

I attended Marlboro College in Vermont for two years, after which I traveled the world for six years. In the mid 1980s, I attended Drake University, where I received a degree in religious studies.

From 1986 to 1992, I worked in the peace movement.

From 1993 to 2006 I served in the Iowa Legislature, representing residents of downtown Des Moines, the surrounding neighborhoods and the City's northeast side. My focus as a lawmaker was to champion the needs of constituency groups treated unfairly by government or neglected by the majority of policy makers.

In 1998 I helped found 1000 Friends of Iowa, a land-use and anti-urban sprawl group. I served as executive director for 5 years.

In 2006, I ran for governor in a four-way Democratic primary, receiving 26% of the vote -- far more than the 5-10% pundits predicted.

In 2007, with my partner, Lynn Heuss, I co-founded I'M for Iowa: an Independence Movement for Iowa, which addresses many of the same issues raised in my gubernatorial campaign. For the last year, Lynn and I also worked as consultants with John Edwards' campaign for president.

I am an accomplished musician on many instruments and I speak French and Spanish. I was raised Catholic and consider myself staunchly ecumenical. I lived in the inner-city of Des Moines for 20 years and now reside in the historic Sherman Hill neighborhood. I am an avid gardener and for many years grew much of my family's food on land reclaimed from a clay parking lot. I also established a community garden in the inner-city and I maintain strong connections to my father's farm in Ireland, where I organized the planting of 25,000 oak trees in 1999.

My passion for justice inspires me and my life is committed to working for progressive reform, both within and outside the political process.

Goals:

I'm running because America needs a more progressive U.S. Congress, one that is less focused on the demands of corporate lobbyists and more interested in the needs of average Americans. Democrats in the Third Congressional District deserve a U.S. Representative show commitments, priorities and voting record are more in sync with the Democratic Party's platform. I am confident that Iowans in this district are eager for new, energetic leadership that will bring enthusiasm and a progressive vision to Washington, D.C.

My first goal is to provide a much-needed progressive vote on key legislation. While our current Congressman, Leonard Boswell, is an honorable man who has served our country and state with dignity, I feel he is wrong on many issues. Here are just a few examples:

Boswell supported going to war in Iraq. I opposed the war from the start and would not vote for additional funding for the war, as Boswell has done.

Unlike Boswell, who voted in 2005 to provide $14 billion in tax breaks and incentives to oil and gas companies, I would oppose any such handouts. Boswell also supports increased use of coal, which I oppose.

Unlike Boswell, who in 2007 voted for a NAFTA-like trade agreement with Peru, I would oppose any and all so-called "free" trade agreements.

I believe the Patriot Act is an infringement on privacy and civil liberties. Unlike Boswell, I would not have voted for it. Nor would I have supported a bill he voted for in 2007 that increases unwarranted surveillance on the American people.

Second, while I recognize how important it is for a Congressman to be knowledgeable and engaged on a wide range of issues, my legislative focus will be to provide leadership in three key areas: global warming, campaign finance reform and poverty.

Third, as an Iowa legislator for 14 years, I gained a statewide reputation for constituent service. Even Iowans outside my district came to expect and appreciate my advocacy on their behalf regarding a wide range of concerns, including human service, criminal justice, land use, labor and the environment. Similarly, as a Congressman, my staff and I will bring a new style of constituent service to the district. Every Iowan who contacts my office -- not just those with deep pockets -- will be taken seriously and treated with respect. Words people contacting my office will never hear are "We can't help you with your problem," and "The Congressman doesn't get involved in local issues."

Issues:

First, the most pressing issue of our time -- if not of all time -- is global warming. Earth's growing climate crisis dwarfs all other concerns. One of the main reasons I want to serve in Congress is because I believe that is where I can have the biggest impact on behalf of this issue.

Second, campaign finance reform is desperately needed if other key issues are to be taken seriously. Helping to secure passage of public financing legislation is a top priority for me. Throughout my 16 years in politics, I have never taken money from PACs or lobbyists. As a matter of principle, I maintain this same commitment in my Congressional campaign. In contrast, Congressman Boswell has not been active in reform efforts while in the U.S. House, and most of his donations come from PACs and lobbyists. (Between February and September, 2007, he raised $600,167 -- 73.34% of it from PACs.)

My third priority is to champion legislation and community initiatives that address poverty and related injustices, including the need for reform in our criminal justice system.

Grassroots Support:

Grassroots organizing has been the foundation of all my past campaigns, political and otherwise, and it is certainly the foundation of this campaign of well. Though we have budgeted $250,000 for advertising, our staff and budget is heavy on field organizing, including a daily phonebank of ten people calling five days a week, two or more house parties each week, one earned media event each week, and an ongoing letters-to-the-editor campaign.

DFA Values:

More than anything, to be socially progressive means one has to be willing to take on the corporate interests that have come to dominate our government. It means being a true centrist, that is, standing up for the issues that are central to the lives of the vast majority of Americans. It means fighting for fairness and equality, encouraging tolerance and acceptance, and voting with an eye toward justice and sustainability.

As a legislator, on fiscal issues, I believed in spending taxpayers' money cautiously and judiciously. My voting record as a legislator demonstrates consistent support for responsible budgeting and against wasteful spending. On corporate welfare, I became the Legislature's most vocal opponent of give-away programs like the Iowa Values Fund. One of my goals as a Congressman would be to support efforts to significantly reform the use of earmarks.