Hawkins Slams WFP's Cynical and Impotent Strategy to Convince Progressive Voters That the Cuomo on the WFP Line is a Progressive Cuomo

(New York, NY) — In a Monday morning media conference call Green Party Governor candidate Howie Hawkins made a direct appeal to Zephyr Teachout's supporters. He then blasted the Working Families Party (WFP) for its cynical, sad and impotent strategy to convince its members and supporters that somehow voting Cuomo on the WFP line makes him a progressive.

 "I am making a direct appeal to all those who supported and voted for Zephyr Teachout, all those who care about women's equality, poverty, income inequality, fracking, clean energy, Albany corruption—and all the progressive values Ms. Teachout stood for—to vote for me on election day," Hawkins said.  "I am the only progressive candidate for Governor on the ballot, and the only real choice for voters who were attracted to Ms. Teachout's progressive platform."

"To all progressive voters, and specifically those who supported and voted for Zephyr Teachout, you must not be fooled into thinking that voting Cuomo on the WFP line makes Cuomo a progressive. His poor record on progressive issues is his record no matter what ballot line he appears on," said Howie Hawkins. "WFP says you can vote for the establishment's candidate and miraculously Cuomo will turn around and fight for the working class and those living in poverty. If you believe that, I've got bridge in Brooklyn you might interested in buying."

"This cynical electoral fusion confusion ploy that has WFP leaders and their celebrity friends holding their noses to vote for Governor Cuomo is offensive in the extreme. WFP leaders are sending emails in which they don't even mention Cuomo by name as he does not share the members' values or have a record WFP can comfortably support."

"WFP's claim that a vote on their line sends Cuomo a progressive message is pathetic and impotent. The message Cuomo will get is: after all I've done to you -- pay freeze for public workers, resisting a minimum wage hike, tax cuts for the rich, underfunding public schools, free rent for charter schools, four years of failure to pass public campaign financing -- and you still vote for me? I've got you in my hip pocket," Hawkins said.

Teachout garnered 34% of the Democratic primary vote (181,000 votes) by running on a progressive platform, appealing to voters furious with Governor Cuomo's record on income inequality, taxation, fracking, schooling, poverty and corruption.

In the general election the only candidate running on a progressive platform is Hawkins. The latest polls have Hawkins at 9%, which equates to over 400,000 votes with an expected turnout of over 4.5 million

At a Monday morning press conference Hawkins and NYC 66th Assembly District candidate Alexander Meadows cross endorsed each other. At the press conference Hawkins supporter and President of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic club, which has endorsed Hawkins along with five other NYC Democratic clubs, also blasted the Women's Equality Party for it's phony representation of women.

"After she decimated paid sick leave and living wage legislation Christine Quinn’s speaking out for women’s equality is akin to Margaret Thatcher claiming to be a supporter of the rights of coal mine workers in England," Roskoff said. "Those who care about women's rights should be voting for Howie Hawkins, they should not be tricked by Quinn into voting for Cuomo on the so-called 'Women's Equality Party' line."

Hawkins concluded his call with reporters saying, "Unlike Cuomo and the Working Families Party, with me and the Green Party there is no ballot hocus pocus: what you see is what you get—Howie Hawkins, the People's Governor, running an unabashed progressive campaign on his party's ballot line."

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