Ken and Erin

Ken and Erin

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Article from Staples World Reporter

Ken Pentel, governor-hopeful, bikes through Staples

By Dawn Timbs

Staples World reporter

Gubernatorial candidate Ken Pentel, with the newly formed Ecology Democracy Party, parked his bike in Staples July 12 - 13, one of the stops along his campaign trail.

He’s been on the road since June 26, traveling mostly by bike (in keeping with his ecological-friendly beliefs) and occasionally by canoe.

“I’ve traveled through St. Cloud, Sauk Centre, the Browerville area,” Pentel said recently, at the Stomping Grounds coffee house in Staples. “I just biked here from Wadena. It’s a great way to see this beautiful State of ours and get to know the people who live here.”

Pentel, 49, goes door to door with his campaign message, and holds informal meet-and-greet sessions along the way. In Staples, he invited folks to join him at Dower Lake campground, where he took time to talk with people and answer questions about his policies.

It’s the fourth time Pentel has run for Governor of Minnesota. Previously, as a member of the Green Party, he ran in 1998 (against Jesse Ventura), in 2002 and in 2006. “It was heartbreaking when Paul Wellstone died,” Pentel says of the late Green Party Senator, who died in a 2002 plane crash.

His split from the Green Party came because of a difference in organizing policy, Pentel said. “It’s a beautiful party, filled with beautiful people, but their platform is too sprawling,” he added.

Pentel’s passion for ecology (he worked for Green Peace for 11 years) led him to build the Ecology Democracy Network, of which he is the sole proprietor. “This party was born out of it and was officially formed May 8, 2010.”

The three main issues of the Ecology Democracy Party are:

o Establishing an ecology-based economy for Minnesota

o Implementing proportional representation for the State House (Simply stated, Pentel stressed, “If your party or candidate in a voting region receives 10 percent of the votes, they earn 10 percent of the seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives)

o Removing Big Money and Corporate Interference in government.

Pentel admits he doesn’t have the big bucks that the major parties have access to.

He’s not willing, however, “to pander to the wealthy,” Pentel said. “I’d rather bike through small towns, and help the people who live there find courage to do things differently.”

Pentel believes that poor people can live very rich lives. “There’s a difference between being poor and being in poverty.”

Basic needs need to be met at the local level, Pentel said. “We’ve got to strengthen the local economy.”

Strengthening the non-human world is a big concern for Pentel. He’s also very concerned about rural communities. “They’re drying up...kids are moving away after they graduate because there aren’t jobs for them. We need to be able to give kids livable wage jobs,” the gubernatorial-hopeful said.

Pentel said he sees restoring rural areas as a key to strengthening Minnesota as a whole.

He may not have power or a lot of money, Pentel added. “But I do believe that I have the richest and the best ideas.”

For more information about Ken Pentel and the Ecology Democracy Party, visit www.kenpentel.org.


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