Hawkins Calls for Moratorium on Oil Shipment by Rail and No Tar Sands Oil in New York

Until Moratorium, NY Residents Have a Right to Know Details of Bakken and other Oil Shipments

(Syracuse, NY) At a vigil in Syracuse to observe the one year anniversary of the 47 residents killed in Lac Megantic, Canada by a derailment of a "bomb train," Howie Hawkins said that New York State residents have a right to know about the details of similar shipments here in New York.

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for Governor, will hold a news conference to discuss his campaign on Wednesday, July 9^th at 11:00 a.m. on the lawn the Surrogate County Court House at 92 Court St. in Binghamton.

Howie Hawkins, the Green candidate for Governor, will campaign in the Buffalo area on Sunday.

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for Governor, and Matt Funiciello, the Green candidate for the 21st district congressional seat, said today that they oppose the massive development in the Adirondacks at Tupper Lake that recently won an Appellate Court decision and has the support of Governor Cuomo.

The proposed Adirondack Club & Resort is the largest development ever approved in the Adirondack Park. Hawkins described it as the worst decision ever by the Adirondack Park Agency. Local conservationists oppose the 6,400-acre project as “sprawl on steroids.”

"People in the Adirondacks need sustainable jobs, not more playgrounds for the rich," said Hawkins.

On July 4, politicians declare their love for the American Revolution and democracy, while doing their best to oppose it both at home and abroad.

Because economic power translates into political power, the extreme concentration of wealth in the top 1% undermines democracy. Both main parties have colluded over the last four decades to transfer wealth to their super-rich donors, while ensuring that no meaningful reforms take place to our electoral system. The U.S. leads the industrial nations in income inequality because our electoral system is the least democratic.

The sacred texts of Jews, Christians, and Muslims all call for a Jubilee every 50 years to redistribute wealth and forgive debts, not just for moral reasons, but to make the economy function again. America needs a Jubilee.

 "The escalating number of criminal indictments hasn't put a damper on political corruption at the State Capitol. Pocketing tax dollars for personal gain is the main reason why many legislators go to Albany. Cleaning up corruption has to start with a clean sweep in November. Voters need to turn incumbents out this November," said Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for Governor.

 "We also need real ethics reforms and full public campaign financing, not the weak changes promoted by Cuomo and the WFP leadership. The legalized bribery of private campaign financing is thoroughly corrupting. The money made by politicians on fees for consulting companies doing business with the state and the pay-to-play system of private campaign financing have to be ended with a full time legislature and full public campaign financing. We need public servants, not privately purchased politicians," Hawkins added.

Howie Hawkins hailed the New York Court of Appeals decision announced today that upholds the right of municipal governments to ban fracking within their jurisdictions.

"The Green Party strongly supports the right of local communities to control development in their communities. Local people are usually the best to determine what is best for the public health and safety of local residents," said Hawkins.

Hawkins said that the best way to ban fracking in New York would be to vote for the Green Party in November.

Hawkins Ready to Join Workers on Strike Picket Line

Howie Hawkins, the Teamster who is running for NY Governor for the Green Party, said he was ready to join the picket line if the MTA fails to agree to a new contract with the various worker unions at the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). The contract is set to expire on July 20.

In supporting the wage and benefit proposals advanced by the unions, Hawkins noted that their proposals were accepted by two emergency federal boards convened by President Obama under the Railroad Labor Act to review the impasse. The boards found that the pay raises sought were a reasonable compromise between the MTA's proposals and average wages on consumer rail lines. The Boards found that employees’ salaries, adjusted for inflation, have not increased since 1991.

Calls for Full GLBT Rights

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for Governor, said that while he supported the new initiative by Governor Cuomo to better track individuals with HIV in order to eliminate the AIDS epidemic, more funding and reforms were needed.

Hawkins has previously called for fully restoring funding that Cuomo had cut from the AIDS Institute and homeless youth shelters. While Cuomo says he will increase funding for the AIDS institute by $5 million next year, he proposed a $12 million cut in this year's budget.

Hawkins on IDC Deal: Democrats are Not the Answer

Putting Lipstick on a Pig

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for Governor, said today that a potential Democratic majority in the State Senate will not provide the progressive changes that New Yorkers need.

"Only in New York is it news when a Democratic Governor, major labor unions and Democratic Party Senators announce that they will support the majority Senate Democrats. The fact that it is news shows how thoroughly the Democratic Party has sold itself to special interests. These so-called 'deals' won't change the fact that it will still be the 1% calling the shots. It is just putting lipstick on a pig," said Hawkins.