Brian Jones Statement of Candidacy for Lt. Governor

My name is Brian Jones. I am a long-time educator, activist and parent here in New York City, and I am announcing my intention to seek the Green Party's nomination for the office of Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York.

I am joining with Howie Hawkins, whom I hope the Green Party will nominate to run for Governor of the State of New York, in proposing a campaign that would challenge the policies and priorities of our current state government, of the Democratic AND Republican parties, of Governor Andrew Cuomo, and of the millionaires who support him.

I taught elementary school in New York City's public schools for nine years. I received a masters degree in Elementary Education from the City College of New York in Harlem, and I am currently studying for a doctorate in urban education at the City University of New York Graduate Center. As a teacher and a student, I have been personally invested in New York's public education system.

Mi nombre es Brian Jones. Yo he sido un maestro de escuela publica en la ciudad de N.Y. por cerca de 10 años, yo soy padre de una niña, un activista por la justicia social y un defensor de la educación publica. En el día de hoy, Jueves 8 de mayo, quiero anunciar mi intención de obtener la candidatura a Vice-Gobernador del Estado de New York como parte de la candidaturas a decidirse en la asamblea del Partido Verde el próximo 17 de Mayo.

I am excited that Brian Jones has stepped up to run as the Green Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Brian would not just balance the Green Party ticket. He would multiply it.

Senator Schumer is correct that most Democratic Party officials support hydrofracking, from the White House on down to the State House. But millions of New Yorkers, including millions of Democratic voters, know that fracking pollutes the air, land, and water, sickens people living near fracking wells, and contributes to global climate change. Unfortunately, their elected representatives listen more to the corporate lobbyists that line their pockets with campaign cash than to the wishes of constituents.

Speaking today at the Cannabis Parade in NYC, Howie Hawkins said that the Green Party supports an end to the war on drugs, starting with the legalization of marijuana.

“The Green Party calls for the immediate legalization of the growth, sale and possession of cannabis and hemp under NY State law, and for legal opposition to Federal prosecutions for the same. Prohibition and the resulting 'drug war' have unjustly incarcerated countless individuals and scarred communities, often along racial and class lines, while draining resources from society. In addition to criminalizing personal drug use, cannabis prohibition deprives society of the industrial benefits of hemp at a time when we must make use of every ecologically responsible resource to provide materials and energy in the face of looming environmental crises,” said Hawkins, who is seeking the Green Party nomination for Governor. Hawkins finished 3 in the 2010 Gubernatorial election.

Hawkins heads to Utica for May Day to join a “Fight for Fifteen” May Day Vigil for Fair and Living Wages, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. on the public sidewalk on 100 block North Genesee Street (across the street from the Hess Gas Station), Utica.

Hawkins supports raising the state minimum wage to $15 an hour, indexed to increases in worker productivity, and would crack down on the epidemic of wage theft in the state Gov. Andrew Cuomo has refused more than a year to convene a minimum wage board to provide a wage hike to tip workers despite this being part of the wage agreement last year with the legislature. State labor law allows the Governor to administratively raise the minimum wage without the need for legislative approval. 

Howie Hawkins on the Red/Green roots of May Day:

Wednesday April 30 Howie Hawkins is bringing his radical progressive platform to Ithaca.

Tompkins County wake up to Howie on WHCU with Lee Rayburn. Then in the evening, Howie will meet with Greens, supporters and curious citizens about his campaign for Governor, first at a 5pm Meet and Greet at Autumn Leaves on the Ithaca Commons then at 7pm hosted by the Ithaca College Greens in Textor Hall. Here's the Facebook event page. Howie will also be on WRFI's Practical Earthkeeper at 4pm

Howie is running on a Green New Deal platform that includes a $15 minimum wage, banning fracking, ending the war on drugs, and a public jobs program to end unemployment by put people to work meeting community needs and building the transition to a renewable energy economy.

Before heading down Howie will speak with Ryan Clover on EcoDefense Radio on WRFI http://www.wrfi.org/online-stream/ on Tuesday April 28 at 12:30pm.  

Howie speaks with Syracuse's Dan Cummings on the program Newsmakers, sharing stories about coming up during the civil rights movement and laying out is Green New Deal platform New York.

WHCU Morning Newswatch: Howie Hawkins Interview: New York's Other Candidate

“Fifteen dollars an hour is just simple justice,” Hawkins said. “And in New York City, it should even be higher. The governor has the power to form a minimum wage board. In fact, he’s been instructed by legislation to deal with the tipped workers who were left out of probably the world’s worst minimum wage law. That law creates a ceiling as well as floor because it subsidizes teenage workers. It’s ridiculous.” Governor Cuomo was supposed to convene the minimum wage board to address the plight of tip workers in the food industry as part of the legislation that ever-so-slightly nudged the minimum wage in New York Sate to $8 an hour last year. But that has not happened.