Ken Pentel
Encyclopedia
Ken Pentel is an American politician, and a candidate for Governor of Minnesota for the Ecology Democracy Party
. Pentel was the gubernatorial candidate for the Green party three previous times, in 1998, 2002, and 2006.
. His father owned Pentel Pontiac and his mother was an employment counselor. After high school, Pentel studied theater at the University of Minnesota
for a couple of years before moving to California
, intending to go into show business. Having seen the results of pollution in California, Pentel became interested in the environmental movement. When he arrived back in the Twin Cities in 1986, Pentel joined Greenpeace
, where he worked for 11 years as a field manager, volunteer organizer and lobbyist.
Ecology Democracy Party
The Ecology Democracy Party is a minor political party in Minnesota. Founded in 2010 by Ken Pentel, the party advocates a "shift from a human-centered to an ecological view of the world."...
. Pentel was the gubernatorial candidate for the Green party three previous times, in 1998, 2002, and 2006.
Biography
Pentel grew up in Minneapolis and graduated from Hopkins High SchoolHopkins High School
Hopkins High School is a public high school located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a southwestern suburb of Minneapolis. It offers classes for grades 10, 11, and 12. Hopkins High School is part of the Hopkins School District 270 and draws students from the city of Hopkins, central and eastern parts of...
. His father owned Pentel Pontiac and his mother was an employment counselor. After high school, Pentel studied theater at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
for a couple of years before moving to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, intending to go into show business. Having seen the results of pollution in California, Pentel became interested in the environmental movement. When he arrived back in the Twin Cities in 1986, Pentel joined Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, where he worked for 11 years as a field manager, volunteer organizer and lobbyist.
Issues
His platform consists of:- Stable, livable-wage jobs
- Single-payer healthcare to cover all Minnesotans
- Increased funding for education
- Affordable low-cost housing
- Clean water, air and soil
- Clean, publicly financed elections
- Instant runoff voting
- Proportional representation
- Corporate accountability
- Rewards for efficient and sustainable energy
- Tax breaks for local family farmers and organic agriculture
- An economically and ethnically diverse administration
Election results
- 2006 - Governor - 4th of 6 running 10,854 votes, for 0.49%
- 2002 - Governor - 4th of 7 running 50,589 votes, for 2.25%
- 1998 - Governor - 4th of 8 running 6,983 votes, for 0.3%