Ed Fallon

The son of a member of the U.S. military, Fallon was born in Santa Monica, California in 1958, but spent the majority of his formative years living in Saugus, Massachusetts. After two years at Marlboro College in Vermont, he spent several years traveling around Europe, Canada, and the Middle East. At one point, having exhausted his financial resources, he was homeless for a time before returning to the United States.{{cite news | title = From the Sidelines, Fallon Soldiers On | date = 2008-11-09 | url = http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081109/NEWS/811090330/1001/NEWS | newspaper = The Des Moines Register | accessdate = 2008-11-12 }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} During his travels, he acquired some fluency in Spanish and French.{{cite news | title = Exalting the e-word | date = 2006-06-01 | url = http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_SDDRSVJ | newspaper = The Economist | accessdate = 2007-08-05 }}

Upon returning to the U.S., he moved to Iowa, where he attended Drake University between 1985 and 1987, earning a bachelor's degree in religious studies. Fallon also worked as a field canvasser for Iowa Citizen Action Network during this period. After graduating from Drake, he became a community organizer in the inner city of Des Moines, the result of his opposition to the then-dominant policies of President Ronald Reagan and other conservative Republicans. After organizing the Iowa portion of the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament in 1986, Fallon founded the Des Moines Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament,{{cite news|title=D.M. schoolchildren taught ways to make peace in conflict|last=Lewis|first=Melanie|date=1989-10-12|work=Des Moines Register}} which ultimately became Clarion Alliance, a non-profit focusing on peace and conflict resolution issues.{{cite news|title=Voting with their dollars: Iowans reassess military spending|author=|date=1991-11-01|work=Hawkeye}}

File:Ed S. Fallon, Jr. - Official Portrait - 80th GA.jpg

In 1992, he decided to enter electoral politics, challenging Democratic State Representative Gary Sherzan, a ten-year incumbent, for re-nomination. Although Sherzan outspent him by almost a two-to-one margin, Fallon won the primary with 63% of the vote and went on to an easy victory in the general election.{{cite news|title=Szymoniak narrowly foils Hatch challenge; Fallon upsets Sherzan|last1=Roos|first1=Jonathan|date=1992-06-03|work=Des Moines Register|last2=Fogarty|first2=Thomas A.}}

During the 2000 presidential election, he made headlines across the state when he endorsed the candidacy of Green Party nominee Ralph Nader over that of Democrat Al Gore because of Gore's choice of Joe Lieberman as a running mate. Fallon admitted in 2001 that, while people's frustration with the Democratic Party was legitimate, his decision to back Nader was a mistake.

The leaders of the Iowa Democratic Party, angered at Fallon's actions, stripped him of his place as ranking member of the House Local Government Committee. He was voted off the Polk County Democratic Central Committee and, when the state was redistricted in 2001, 70% of his former constituents were moved to another district (which was done through a non-partisan process). Facing a three-way primary in what was for all intents and purposes a new district, Fallon was not expected to survive. Instead, he won 68% of the vote in the primary and won re-election to a sixth term.

{{see further|2006 Iowa gubernatorial election}}

In October 2002, after progressive Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash, Fallon decided that he wanted to emulate Wellstone's impact on his state's politics by running for Governor.{{Cite web |last=Dorman |first=Todd |date=7 June 2006 |title=Culver wins Democratic slot for governor |url=https://globegazette.com/news/local/culver-wins-democratic-slot-for-governor/article_ca730b87-54b7-5738-ac15-5d0c2ee31914.html |access-date=2019-01-19 |website=Mason City Globe Gazette |language=en}} After spending almost two and a half years testing the waters and preparing for his run, he announced his candidacy on April 9, 2005, at a rally at the Iowa State Capitol, becoming the first candidate to officially declare.

During the course of the race, in which he faced Secretary of State Chet Culver and former state economic development director and Congressman Mike Blouin, Fallon positioned himself as a candidate focused on populist concerns. The main focal point of his campaign was a pledge to enact voluntary public financing of elections, a pledge that he reinforced with his refusal to accept donations from political action committees and lobbyists and his self-imposed limitation of $2400 in contributions per person.[http://www.iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1703 Evidence suggests Fallon may challenge Boswell in Dem primary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225152748/http://www.iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1703 |date=2007-12-25 }} Iowa Independent He was also 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. He opposed urban sprawl, legalized gambling, factory farms, and the Iowa Values Fund, a multimillion-dollar corporate incentive package that he dubbed "corporate welfare."{{Cite web|url=https://www.ffledger.com/p/Fallon-pitches-bid-for-governor/42547|title=Fallon pitches bid for governor|last=Gable|first=Erik|date=2005-04-20|website=www.ffledger.com|access-date=2019-01-19|archive-date=2019-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119130004/https://www.ffledger.com/p/Fallon-pitches-bid-for-governor/42547|url-status=dead}}

In January and March 2006, more delegates pledged to him were selected to attend the state party convention than those of any other candidate. If no candidate had won 35% of the vote in the primary, convention delegates would have awarded the nomination. In late May, he received the endorsement of the Iowa Sierra Club and the Iowa City Press-Citizen, becoming the first candidate to receive support from a major newspaper.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=36465|title=Our Campaigns - IA Governor - D Primary Race - Jun 06, 2006|website=www.ourcampaigns.com|access-date=2019-01-19}}

In the primary on June 6, 2006, the winner was Chet Culver with 57,976 votes (39.09%) and Fallon ran third out of a field of four, receiving 38,160 votes (25.73%). Although this result was not the win that Fallon and his supporters had hoped for, it was considerably in excess of the 5 to 10% that pundits had speculated he might receive at the beginning of the race.

On November 10, 2006, three days after the midterm elections, during which candidates that 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.

File:08.13.2007 Iowa Bus Tour Kick Off! (1106165098).jpg, joining Edwards and Edwards' youngest children at an August 2007 rally for Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign]]

On December 28, 2006, 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. Edwards, who was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, has taken positions similar to Fallon's on campaign finance reform and universal health care, and has called for an end to poverty and an immediate withdrawal from the Iraq War.[http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=DF981435-E95A-4FB1-A4BB2A0BAD33256A&dbtranslator=local.cfm Radio Iowa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927162754/http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=DF981435-E95A-4FB1-A4BB2A0BAD33256A&dbtranslator=local.cfm |date=2007-09-27}}

On January 11, 2007, 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. According to Fallon, the organization will seek "independence" for Iowa from "special interest campaign contributions"; "poverty, injustice and discrimination"; "fossil fuels and foreign oil"; "government subsidies for big business"; and "government officials who operate without the public's interest in mind, often behind closed doors, and with a lack of integrity and accountability.".{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927122426/http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=86150 Iowa Politics]}} Questions were raised about I'M for Iowa in March 2007 about whether the organization was following campaign finance laws and behaving in an ethical manner."[http://iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2126 Iowa Independent] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403094324/http://iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2126 |date=2008-04-03 }}

File:Ed Fallon.jpg

On January 8, 2008, Fallon formally filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Congress.[http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000002653032 CQ Politics | Even More Politics for Dems in Iowa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081105153030/http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000002653032 |date=2008-11-05 }} He formally announced his candidacy in a press conference in Des Moines on January 16, 2008.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080123223549/http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=115794 Iowa Politics]}}

Media reports noted that Fallon carried the 3rd District in the 2006 gubernatorial primary, and examination of the caucus results shows that John Edwards, whom Fallon endorsed, did much better in the district than did Senator Hillary Clinton, whom Boswell endorsed. Edwards carried six counties in the district, while Clinton carried none. Fallon was defeated by Boswell in the Democratic primary on June 3, 2008, by a 61 to 39 percent margin.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boswell-wins-democratic-primary/|title=Boswell Wins Democratic Primary|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=4 June 2008 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-19}}

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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailyiowanmedia.com/live/2011/10/10/occupy-demonstrators-arrested-in-des-moines/|title=Daily Iowan Media – Casino News Media|access-date=2011-11-21|archive-date=2011-10-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013054344/http://www.dailyiowanmedia.com/live/2011/10/10/occupy-demonstrators-arrested-in-des-moines/|url-status=dead}} Fallon was found not guilty of trespassing by a jury on March 9, 2012.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/03/09/polk-county-jury-finds-fallon-not-guilty-on-trespassing-charge/ |title=Update: Ed Fallon reacts to not-guilty verdict on trespassing charge | des Moines Register Staff Blogs |accessdate=2012-03-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120728105633/http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/03/09/polk-county-jury-finds-fallon-not-guilty-on-trespassing-charge/ |archivedate=2012-07-28 }}

On March 1, 2013, Fallon announced the start of a campaign aimed at inspiring society to take action on climate change. Fallon assembled a team and launched the non-profit, Great March for Climate Action. His plan to inspire hundreds of individuals to march across the nation, from Los Angeles, CA to Washington, DC, helped motivate both the general public and elected officials to address climate change.{{Cite web |url=http://iowa-city-climate-advocates.org/2013/03/11/great-march-for-climate-action/ |title=Great March for Climate Action |access-date=2013-06-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201183801/http://iowa-city-climate-advocates.org/2013/03/11/great-march-for-climate-action/ |archive-date=2014-02-01 |url-status=dead }}

On March 2, 2015, 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.{{cite news|author1=Larry Burkum |title=Former Iowa lawmaker walking to protest proposed pipeline |url=https://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/former-iowa-lawmaker-walking-to-protest-proposed-pipeline-20150306#7f6SIUq9YkMjGSJx.99 |accessdate=8 April 2015 |work=KCRG-TV9 |publisher=ABC News |date=6 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415204744/http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/former-iowa-lawmaker-walking-to-protest-proposed-pipeline-20150306 |archivedate=15 April 2015 }}

On May 18, 2015, Capitol Police were called for a disturbance in the Governor's Office. Fallon was found refusing to leave as he protested the Dakota Access pipeline. He was escorted off the premises and charged with criminal trespassing. He posted bond that evening.Brianne Pfannenstiel [http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2015/05/18/ed-fallon-protests-eminent-domain/27547561/ Ed Fallon arrested at statehouse], Des Moines Register, 18 May 2015

From late 2015 to early 2016, Fallon worked with The Climate Mobilization to approach presidential candidates campaigning for the Iowa caucuses urging a more realistic and ambitious approach to the climate crisis, an economic mobilization on the scale of the American effort during World War II for 100% clean energy and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.{{cite news|last1=Glover|first1=Mike|title=Ed Fallon walks the walk for climate action|url=http://iowadailydemocrat.com/2015/10/ed-fallon-walks-the-walk-for-climate-action/|work=The Iowa Daily Democrat|date=2 October 2015}} In January 2016, Fallon hosted a "Climate Emergency Caucus" in Des Moines before the Iowa caucuses, which simulated the state's 2016 Democratic presidential primary caucus. Bernie Sanders won the vote with 67% of attendees.{{cite news|last1=Haley|first1=Charley|title=Sanders a favorite at climate change rally|url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/30/sanders-favorite-climate-change-rally/79551596/|work=Des Moines Register|date=30 January 2016}} Fallon endorsed Sanders for president, and spoke publicly in his favor in advance of the Iowa caucuses.{{cite news|title=Iowa Progressives Weigh Clinton vs Sanders as One of Whitest U.S. States Kicks Off Presidential Race|url=http://www.democracynow.org/2016/2/1/iowa_progressives_weigh_clinton_vs_sanders|work=Democracy Now|date=1 February 2016}}

Since its formation in 2016, Fallon has served as the director of Bold Iowa.{{Cite web|url=https://whotv.com/2016/06/06/iowa-regulators-approve-bakken-oil-pipeline-construction/|title=Iowa Regulators Approve Bakken Oil Pipeline Construction|date=2016-06-06|website=whotv.com|language=en|access-date=2019-01-19}}{{Cite web|url=http://boldiowa.com/our-team/|title=Our Team – Bold Iowa|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-19}} Bold Iowa's mission is to build rural-urban coalitions to address climate change and prevent the abuse of eminent domain to build pipelines.{{Cite web|url=http://boldiowa.com/mission/|title=Mission – Bold Iowa|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-19}}

Fallon wrote his first book, Marcher, Walker, Pilgrim, published in 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/rekha-basu/2018/12/13/des-moines-politician-activist-ed-fallon-found-meaning-walking-across-country-climate-change/2225367002/|title=Reflections on roadkill, life's meaning illuminate Ed Fallon's walk against climate change|website=Des Moines Register|language=en|access-date=2019-01-19}}

Currently, in addition to hosting The Fallon Forum talk show, and directing Bold Iowa and Climate March, Ed Fallon and his wife manage Birds & Bees Urban Farm,{{cite web|url=https://birdsbeesurbanfarm.org/|title=Birds & Bees Urban Farm|language=en-US|access-date=2022-07-03}} a Des Moines educational non-profit urban farm.

{{reflist}}

• [http://fallonforum.com/ The Fallon Forum]
• [https://www.facebook.com/ed.fallon.3 Ed Fallon on Facebook]
• {{C-SPAN|43589}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fallon, Ed}}

Category:Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives

Category:Politicians from Santa Monica, California

Category:People from Saugus, Massachusetts

Category:Living people

Category:1958 births

Category:Drake University alumni

Category:American community activists

Category:Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa

Category:Marlboro College alumni

Category:Candidates in the 2006 United States elections

Category:Candidates in the 2008 United States elections

Category:20th-century members of the Iowa General Assembly

Category:21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly