Fox 40 WICZ TV, Binhamton, April 18, 2018

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate running for Governor of New York, visited Binghamton Wednesday.

Speaking at Columbus Park, the Green Party candidate who finished 3rd in the Gubernatorial race in 2014 says he's pushing for single-payer health care, fully-funded public schools, a ban on new fossil fuel infrastructure, and 100 percent clean renewable energy within 15 years.

“I will be happy to debate the Republicans on who can improve the business climate more - the Green Party or the Republican party - because they talk a good game about cutting taxes, but they talk about cutting taxes for the rich, not for the working class.”
— Howie Hawkins, Green Party Candidate for Governor of New York

Hawkins called for a Green New Deal as “the alternative to Cuomo’s corrupt corporate welfare posing as economic development.”

The Green New Deal includes transitioning to 100 percent clean energy and investing in public infrastructure and services. The objective is to achieve full employment with jobs in clean energy, mass transit, public housing, public broadband, education, and health care. 

“We put more money in working people’s pocket, they spend it, it increases demand, businesses expand, jobs are created, that’s our approach. That’s what we call the Green New Deal," said Hawkins.

During his press conference he stated that his 5 percent of the vote that year forced Cuomo to compete for progressive voters by adopting a number of Green demands, including the ban of fracking, the $15 minimum wage, paid family leave, and tuition-free public college. 

Governor Cuomo, a democrat, is seeking his third term in office as New York governor.