Tickets on Sale Monday (Oct. 11) to See Former Governor, Wrestler Jesse Ventura at WSU

PULLMAN, Wash. – Tickets will go on sale Monday (Oct. 11) to attend a Washington State University public lecture by former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura at 8 p.m. Oct. 29 as part of Dad’s Weekend.

Ventura, a visiting Harvard Fellow, will discuss current political issues ranging from grass-roots political organization to the importance of third-party movements on American government. 

Tickets are $7 for WSU students and $10 for the general public and will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. The event will be in Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. They can be purchased at all TicketsWest outlets, by phone at (800) 325-SEAT or online at www.beasley.wsu.edu.

Tickets for a prelecture banquet will also be available and come with VIP passes to the lecture and a brief meet-and-greet session with Ventura. Contact Tim Hogg, event coordinator for The Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy, at (206) 354-2864 for more information.

Ventura was elected the 38^th governor of Minnesota in November 1998. Shocking the political establishment, Ventura became the first-ever Reform Party candidate to win statewide office by defeating Democrat Hubert H. (Skip) Humphrey III and Republican Norm Coleman. Ventura promised to keep new voters engaged in the political process by maintaining “common sense policies” that reduce reliance on government. He was also a strong proponent of public education and crime reduction during his term as governor.

Ventura was born James Janos on July 15, 1951, to Sgt. George Janos, a steamfitter for the city of Minneapolis, Minn., and 1^st Lt. Bernice Janos, a nurse anesthetist.  Immediately after high school, Ventura joined the Navy and was trained as a SEAL. He served in the Navy for six years during the Vietnam era – four on active duty, two in the Reserve.

For 11 years, Ventura was a professional wrestler. Known then as Jesse “The Body” Ventura, he retired from wrestling in 1984 and became an actor, appearing in several films, including “Predator” with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He later became a radio talk-show host.

Following his term as governor, Ventura headed east to teach at Harvard’s elite John F. Kennedy School of Government as a visiting fellow. The Institute of Politics group study, run by the former governor, focuses on third-party politics, the way third parties influence the landscape of American government and the future of independent political movements in America.

The Associated Students of WSU’s Student Entertainment Board and The Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service are sponsoring the event. “This event will occur just days from the first election that the vast majority of students at WSU will be able to participate in.  We felt it is essential to provide the students with a voice of difference,” said Joel Elmer, director of the student entertainment board.