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Introduction from Ken Pentel - 
Green Party Candidate

I have three specific goals in my campaign:

#1)  To ensure that the real issues that concern people's day 
to day lives are not avoided in the discussions and debates 
around the governor's race.

#2)  To gain major party status for the Green Party of MN by 
achieving over 5% of the vote with votes in each county.  This 
would ensure more choices for future elections in Minnesota 
which would be a major step towards a more genuine democracy.

In 1996 the Ralph Nader/ Winona LaDuke for President/ Vice 
President campaign finished 4th place Nationally while only on 
the ballot in 21 states.  1996 Cam Gordon ran for MN House 
Seat 62A (in the seward neighborhood) and finished 2nd place 
(beating the republican candidate) with 25%.....the best 
showing in 40 yrs for a 3rd party candidate in MN.  In 1997 
we elected Debbie Ortman to the Hermantown City Council, 
Annie Young to the Minneapolis Park Board (with the 2nd 
highest city wide vote total next to the mayor), Dean 
Zimmerman to the Minneapolis Park Board.  Our one 
cross-endorsement of Jim Niland won re-election to City 
Council and David Luce lost with 46% in North Minneapolis 
(with no previous local Green Party activity) for Park Board.

Before last weeks League of Women Voters Forum I have 
been included in 9 debates with major party candidates.  
This campaign has received major media attention from 
WCCO TV & Radio, MPR, the Star Tribune, KTCA, Law & 
Politics, most smaller alternative media and most non-metro 
media sources as I travel around the state.

This campaign is organized, serious and we definitely have the 
momentum to gain major party status (meaning that your vote 
DOES count). 

#3)  To liberate voters to vote for what they believe in rather 
than out of fear.

The current two dominant political parties in Minnesota have 
held voters ransom by encouraging voters to cast their vote 
out of fear.  By voting out of fear of "the worst of two bad 
choices" we encourage our dominant political parties to move 
farther away from the values of many of their voters.  The only 
way to hold your candidates accountable to this is by voting 
for a third party.  This would make the statement that #1) we 
are not happy with our current choices and are willing to 
support the development of an alternative party in order to 
encourage more choices for the future, #2) we do understand 
that by voting for a candidate we do not completely trust or 
agree with will not change their political views (only not voting 
for a candidate will make a candidate think twice about listening 
to their possible constituency) and #3) we refuse to support a 
current two party political system which allows centralized, 
corporate economic interests to fund our political campaigns 
and lobby the halls of our state capitol to such an extend that 
the intent and message of the citizenry is filtered and distorted 
in the decision making process of government.