Ed Fallon
Encyclopedia
Ed Fallon is an American politician
from the U.S. state
of Iowa
. A Democrat
, he was a candidate for Governor of Iowa and U.S. Congress and served as a member of the Iowa General Assembly
from 1993 to 2006.
, 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. During his travels, he acquired some fluency in Spanish
and French
. He knows how to play seven musical instrument
s, including the guitar
, the accordion
, the Irish whistle, and the piano
.
Upon returning to his native country, 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 canavasser 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
. Fallon founded the Des Moines Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament which ultimately became Clarion Alliance, a non-profit focusing on peace and conflict resolution issues.
with 63% of the vote and went on to an easy victory in the general election
.
Over the next eight years, Fallon earned a reputation in his district as a progressive
legislator. 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 tough, 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 easily won re-election to a sixth term.
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
. 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 Building, 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 committee
s and lobbyists
and his self-imposed limitation of $2400 in contributions per person. 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 multi-million-dollar corporate incentive
package that he dubbed "corporate welfare."
In January and March 2006, more delegate
s 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.
The primary was held on June 6, 2006. With 100% of precinct
s reporting, the winner was Chet Culver with 57,976 votes, or 39.09%. Fallon ran third out of a field of four, receiving 38,160 votes, or 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.
, 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
.
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.
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 fuel
s 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
.". 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. " However, these claims were based on the misunderstanding that I'M for Iowa was not a private, unincorporated business.
to run for Congress. He formally announced his candidacy in a press conference in Des Moines on January 16, 2008.
Media reports have noted that Fallon carried the 3rd district in the 2006 gubernatorial primary, and examination of the caucus results shows that Senator 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. (Illinois
Senator Barack Obama
carried another six counties and the district.)
Fallon was defeated by Boswell in the Democratic primary on June 3, 2008, by a 61 to 39 percent margin.
.
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
from the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. A Democrat
Iowa Democratic Party
The Iowa Democratic Party is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the state of Iowa.-Current elected officials:Iowa Democrats are in control of the Iowa Senate, one of the state's United States Senate seats, and three out of the state's five United States House of Representatives seats. ...
, he was a candidate for Governor of Iowa and U.S. Congress and served as a member of the Iowa General Assembly
Iowa General Assembly
The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Representatives respectively...
from 1993 to 2006.
Early life
The son of a member of the U.S. militaryMilitary of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
, Fallon was born in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
in 1958, but spent the majority of his formative years living in Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 26,628 at the 2010 census.-History:Saugus was first settled in 1629. Saugus is an Indian name believed to mean "great" or "extended"...
. After two years at Marlboro College
Marlboro College
Marlboro College is a small, coeducational, alternative liberal-arts college in Marlboro, Vermont, USA.-History:Marlboro College was founded in 1946 by Walter Hendricks for returning World War II veterans on Potash Hill in Marlboro, Vermont. The school's operation was initially financed using money...
in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, he spent several years traveling around Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. At one point, having exhausted his financial resources, he was homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
for a time before returning to the United States. During his travels, he acquired some fluency in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. He knows how to play seven musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s, including the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, the Irish whistle, and the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
.
Upon returning to his native country, he moved to Iowa, where he attended Drake University
Drake University
Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
between 1985 and 1987, earning a bachelor's degree in religious studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
. Fallon also worked as a field canavasser for Iowa Citizen Action Network during this period. After graduating from Drake, he became a community organizer
Community organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. A core goal of community organizing is to generate durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence...
in the inner city
Inner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
of Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
, the result of his opposition to the then-dominant policies of President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and other conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
Republicans
Republican Party of Iowa
The Republican Party of Iowa is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Iowa. The State Central Committee is led by Chairman Matt Strawn and Co-Chairman Bill Schickel...
. Fallon founded the Des Moines Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament which ultimately became Clarion Alliance, a non-profit focusing on peace and conflict resolution issues.
State legislature
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 primaryPrimary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
with 63% of the vote and went on to an easy victory in the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
.
Over the next eight years, Fallon earned a reputation in his district as a progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
legislator. During the 2000 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
, he made headlines across the state when he endorsed the candidacy of Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
nominee Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
over that of Democrat Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
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
Ranking member
In United States politics, a ranking member is the second-most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the majority party. Another usage refers to the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. This second usage, often...
of the House Local Government Committee. He was voted off the Polk County
Polk County, Iowa
Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 430,640 in the 2010 census, an increase from 374,601 in the 2000 census. The county seat is Des Moines, which is also the capital city of Iowa...
Democratic Central Committee and, when the state was redistricted
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
in 2001, 70% of his former constituents were moved to another district (which was done through a non-partisan process). Facing a tough, 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 easily won re-election to a sixth term.
Run for governor
In October 2002, after progressiveProgressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
Senator Paul Wellstone
Paul Wellstone
Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
died in a plane crash, Fallon decided that he wanted to emulate Wellstone's impact on his state's politics by running for Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
. 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 Building, becoming the first candidate to officially declare.
During the course of the race, in which he faced Secretary of State Chet Culver
Chet Culver
Chester John "Chet" Culver was the 41st Governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. He was also elected as the Federal Liaison for the Democratic Governors Association for 2008-2009. He founded the Chet Culver Group, an energy sector consulting firm, in 2011.-Early life and education:Culver was born in...
and former state economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
director and Congressman Mike Blouin
Mike Blouin
Michael Thomas Blouin , American politician, was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979, representing Iowa's 2nd congressional district...
, 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 committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
s and lobbyists
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
and his self-imposed limitation of $2400 in contributions per person. He was also in favor of creating a locally-owned renewable fuels industry, universal health care
Universal health care
Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
, reforming the Departments of Human Services and Corrections, ending government handouts to big business
Corporate welfare
Corporate welfare is a pejorative term describing a government's bestowal of money grants, tax breaks, or other special favorable treatment on corporations or selected corporations. The term compares corporate subsidies and welfare payments to the poor, and implies that corporations are much less...
, and increased funding for public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
. He opposed urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
, legalized gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, factory farms
Factory farming
Factory farming is a term referring to the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a factory — a practice typical in industrial farming by agribusinesses. The main products of this industry are meat, milk and eggs for human consumption...
, and the Iowa Values Fund, a multi-million-dollar corporate incentive
Incentive
In economics and sociology, an incentive is any factor that enables or motivates a particular course of action, or counts as a reason for preferring one choice to the alternatives. It is an expectation that encourages people to behave in a certain way...
package that he dubbed "corporate welfare."
In January and March 2006, more delegate
Delegate
A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...
s pledged to him were selected to attend the state party convention
Political convention
In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.In the United States, a political convention usually refers to a presidential nominating convention, but it can also refer to state, county, or congressional district nominating conventions...
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
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
and the Iowa City Press-Citizen
Iowa City Press-Citizen
The Iowa City Press-Citizen is a daily newspaper published in Iowa City, Iowa, that serves most of Johnson County and portions of surrounding counties...
, becoming the first candidate to receive support from a major newspaper.
The primary was held on June 6, 2006. With 100% of precinct
Precinct
A precinct is a space enclosed by the walls or other boundaries of a particular place or building, or by an arbitrary and imaginary line drawn around it. The term has several different uses...
s reporting, the winner was Chet Culver with 57,976 votes, or 39.09%. Fallon ran third out of a field of four, receiving 38,160 votes, or 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
Pundit (politics)
A pundit is someone who offers to mass media his or her opinion or commentary on a particular subject area on which they are knowledgeable. The term has been increasingly applied to popular media personalities...
had speculated he might receive at the beginning of the race.
Post-primary
On November 10, 2006, three days after the midterm electionsUnited States general elections, 2006
The 2006 United States midterm elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. All United States House of Representatives seats and one third of the United States Senate seats were contested in this election, as well as 36 state governorships, many state legislatures, four territorial...
, during which candidates that Fallon had campaigned for were elected Governor, Secretary of State
Secretary of State (U.S. state government)
Secretary of State is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and other U.S. possessions. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, this official is called the Secretary of the Commonwealth...
, and to the state legislature and the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, he announced in an e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
to supporters that he would take a hiatus from electoral politics, during which he would form a new political activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
organization, dedicated to social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, clean elections
Clean elections
"Clean Elections" is a term used to describe a particular system of government financing of political campaigns, in which the government provides a grant to candidates who agree to limit their and private fundraising efforts and limit their campaign-spending.- In the United States :Clean Election...
, and encouraging local and state action to address global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
.
On December 28, 2006, Fallon appeared in Des Moines at the first official presidential campaign event of former North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
Senator John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
, taking tickets and passing out Edwards campaign literature. Edwards, who was the Democratic nominee for Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
in 2004, has taken positions similar to Fallon's on campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....
and universal health care, and has called for an end to poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and an immediate withdrawal from the Iraq war.
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
Campaign finance
Campaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...
"; "poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, injustice
Injustice
Injustice is the lack of or opposition to justice, either in reference to a particular event or act, or as a larger status quo. The term generally refers to misuse, abuse, neglect, or malfeasance that is uncorrected or else sanctioned by a legal system. Misuse and abuse with regard to a particular...
and discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
"; "fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
s and foreign oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
"; "government subsidies
Corporate welfare
Corporate welfare is a pejorative term describing a government's bestowal of money grants, tax breaks, or other special favorable treatment on corporations or selected corporations. The term compares corporate subsidies and welfare payments to the poor, and implies that corporations are much less...
for big business
Big Business
Big business is a term used to describe large corporations, in either an individual or collective sense. The term first came into use in a symbolic sense subsequent to the American Civil War, particularly after 1880, in connection with the combination movement that began in American business at...
"; and "government officials who operate without the public's interest in mind, often behind closed doors, and with a lack of integrity
Integrity
Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions...
and accountability
Accountability
Accountability is a concept in ethics and governance with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as responsibility, answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving...
.". 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. " However, these claims were based on the misunderstanding that I'M for Iowa was not a private, unincorporated business.
Congressional run
On January 8, 2008, Fallon formally filed paperwork with the Federal Election CommissionFederal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
to run for Congress. He formally announced his candidacy in a press conference in Des Moines on January 16, 2008.
Media reports have noted that Fallon carried the 3rd district in the 2006 gubernatorial primary, and examination of the caucus results shows that Senator 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. (Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
Senator Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
carried another six counties and the district.)
Fallon was defeated by Boswell in the Democratic primary on June 3, 2008, by a 61 to 39 percent margin.
Talk Show Host
Since 2009, Fallon has hosted the Fallon Forum, a call-in talk show on Monday-Thursday, 7:00-8:00 pm. The program airs on 98.3 WOW-FM and discusses a wide range of contemporary issues affecting Iowans. 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 MovementOccupy movement
The Occupy movement is an international protest movement which is primarily directed against economic and social inequality. The first Occupy protest to be widely covered was Occupy Wall Street in New York City, taking place on September 17, 2011...
.