City of presidents has its own hemp candidate for 2012

by David Montgomery, Journal Staff
Source: rapidcityjournal.com

Ed Maddox is running for president of the United States as an Independent. Maddox said he doesn't want to be like most politicians. To be different from them, he said he'll tell the truth.

Ed Maddox, industrial hemp advocate (Ryan Soderlin/Journal staff)

Forget Barack Obama, Mitt Romney or Sarah Palin. As the 2012 presidential campaign heats up, a Rapid City man is making an independent run for the highest office in the land.

Ed Maddox, 51, has launched an independent campaign for president. A cook, bartender, security guard and former cab driver, Maddox knows independents have a dismal record at winning the presidency; arguably, only George Washington, the first president, was elected without being affiliated with a political party.

But Maddox is taking his campaign seriously and plans to raise money and to campaign in all 50 states.

"We're in a nation where people have their own way of thinking," Maddox said. "In other nations, the leaders tell the people what to do. Here in America, we have a free-thought process. I hope that people take me seriously."

Even if Maddox's effort falls short, he hopes his campaign will draw attention to his primary issue: industrial hemp.

"My platform is roughly industrial hemp for the rebirth of our industrial nation," Maddox said. "Industrial hemp is a 90-day crop. That makes for a lot of turnover. Turnover produces more cash. Cash flow helps people in the agricultural industry, as well as this incredible debt that our nation has at the moment."

He says he wants to educate people about hemp and dispel "the impression that hemp is a product that is psychoactive."

"There's absolutely no THC content in industrial hemp," Maddox said.

While he jokes that "I did inhale," Maddox said he isn't pushing for drug legalization, citing the voters' firm rejection the last time they saw an initiated measure to legalize medical marijuana.

Maddox says so far, hemp is his only real issue. He plans to develop a full platform later and has firm feelings on some of the major issues of the day.

"I think it would be more important that our military protect our soil than it would be to protect the soil of other nations," he said. "We wouldn't lose one person to a military battle if we protected our soil."

Maddox has gotten advice from another South Dakotan with experience running as an independent: B. Thomas Marking, who received 6 percent of the vote in a three-way race for U.S. House last fall.

"He was a member of my campaign group and helped me out whenever he could," Marking said. "I want to encourage him taking on something that big. I had a hard enough time just working on the state level as an independent."

Marking said raising money was by far the greatest challenge he faced running as an independent.

"If you don't have the money to get up and use the media the way the major parties can, it's tough to compete on an equal basis," he said.

In a country where the 2008 election saw close to $2 billion in campaign spending by presidential candidates, Maddox knows he is going to face difficulty getting his message out. He hopes to get financial support from other supporters of industrial hemp throughout the country.

Maddox comes to the presidential race from an unorthodox background. Although most of the major candidates for the 2012 election have experience as members of Congress, governors or business leaders, Maddox has bounced around.

He spent more than a dozen years taking classes at community colleges but never received a degree, ultimately graduating from high school with a GED. He studied practical subjects such as welding and automotive mechanics, as well as general subjects including English.

A Texas native, Maddox spent years as a cab driver, where he had an encounter that he says planted the idea of running for president in his head.

While carrying a carload of Secret Service agents away from a hotel where an ex-president was staying, Maddox pulled forward at the wrong time and found himself surrounded by other agents with guns drawn.

"That incident made me think about how well protected ... the president of our nation is," he said. "I thought that was a really neat position."

Maddox has been married and divorced four times and has four adult children. His most recent marriage brought Maddox from Texas to the Black Hills.

"I met a young lady online, and we got married," Maddox said. He moved here to be with his wife, and despite their recent divorce, he plans to stay.

"It's beautiful here," Maddox said. "It's a presidential city."

When not working or campaigning, Maddox likes to camp, collect old cars, golf -- and cultivate his impressive beard. He is the vice president of the local Beard and Moustache Society.

In the few weeks Maddox has been campaigning, he says he has received a positive reception.

"I introduce myself as Ed Maddox, candidate for president, and I tell them what my single issue is at the moment. That seems to be something that the people are interested in," he said. "Even travelers that I don't know have been responsive to my talking to them."

As the 2012 election nears, Maddox says he is focused on doing what it takes to be competitive.

"Right now, there's 174 (independent) people that have signed up to become candidates for the next election," he said. "Out of those, the serious will emerge. The others will fall by the wayside. It should end up being six to eight people at the beginning of (2012), and I hope to be one of those candidates."

Contact David Montgomery at 394-8329 or david.montgomery@rapidcityjournal.com