Three Green Party candidates announced their candidacies today: Jay Pond, running against longtime U.S. Rep. Marty Sabo in the 5th Congressional District; Dave Berger for State Auditor; and Julie Risser in State Senate District 41.

Pond garnered 6 percent of the vote in his 2004 run against Sabo, finishing a distant third. Berger, a sociology instructor at Inver Hills Community College, earned about 4 percent in his run for State Auditor in 2002. Risser, an adjunct faculty at the University of St. Thomas, is a political newcomer and will challenge first-term incumbent Sen. Geoff Michel, a Republican.

All three candidates are running on a platform that stresses clean energy and transportation. “Most Minnesotans want a clean energy alternative that is sustainable and economical,” Pond said in a statement released by the Green Party. “I’m optimistic that as a nation we are ready to transition away from a war economy. When we do, this region will benefit. We have the political and financial clout to finance the building of a new energy infrastructure. To do so would create jobs while accommodating our region’s potential for wind energy production.”