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All candidates for governor but Cuomo attend debate

Upstate NPR: November 1, 2018

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Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins and independent candidate and former Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner participate in the League of Women Voters' debate Thursday.

Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins offers what he calls a “Green Deal” for New Yorkers, including single-payer health care, a shift to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, full funding for schools, the elimination of charter schools and a true $15 minimum wage for upstate New York.

Hawkins said it’s a disservice to voters that there were only two debate forums in the entire general election campaign, and that Cuomo only showed up for an event that excluded third-party candidates.

“Shame on Andrew Cuomo for not coming here,” Hawkins scolded as the audience applauded.

The League of Women Voters, in a statement, expressed frustration that the governor did not participate, saying they don’t understand why Cuomo “does not feel a fair, nonpartisan debate is an appropriate venue to speak directly to voters.”

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Gubernatorial Candidates Discuss PFAS Contamination Without Cuomo

WAMC (NPR, Albany): November 2, 2018

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Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins said the current administration was late to recognize the water problems in Hoosick Falls. PFOA was first detected by a Hoosick Falls resident in 2014. DEC confirmed the presence of PFOA in village water supplies in 2016.

“And then this Water Council was announced, it was supposed to meet in March, it just met, I think, two weeks ago, finally, to start setting these standards. This is ridiculous. Look, I’m a candidate of the Green Party. This is a priority for me. For us. And we’re going to make sure the DEC is staffed and we’re going to deal with issues like water, lead, algae blooms in our lakes, and climate change – that’s the one that’s really threatening our civilization,” said Hawkins.

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Hawkins Interview on WNYC

WNYC Radio: November 2, 2018

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Meet the Candidates: Hawkins, Sharpe, & Miner

Hear from the candidates for New York Governor on the ballot on the “other” party lines: the Green Party’s Howie Hawkins, then the Libertarian Party’s Larry Sharpe, followed by Stephanie Miner, former Democratic mayor of Syracuse, running for governor on the SAM (Serve America Movement) line.

New York gubernatorial debate: how best to upset the status Cuomo?

News Growl: November 2, 2018

Hawkins made the most direct attack on the absent media and the absent incumbent.

“Shame on Andrew Cuomo for not coming here,” he said in his closing statement to an (against the rules) round of applause. “Shame on the broadcast and cable corporation networks for not broadcasting this, and for bowing down to Cuomo,” he continued, referring to the $850,000 in donations the governor has received from media conglomerates.

“They are acting like state media for the two-party state…they only give you the illusion of choice.”

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Four candidates challenging Cuomo debate in Albany

WIVB TV, Albany: November 2, 2018

"We need to build public housing to deal with the affordability crisis. The rent is too damn high. Health care costs are going up," Hawkins said.

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Without Cuomo, Other Candidates for Governor Present Ideas in Tempered Debate

Gotham Gazette: November 2, 2018

By David Colon

New York’s gubernatorial candidates (minus Governor Andrew Cuomo, who declined the invitation) took the stage at Albany’s College of Saint Rose Thursday evening for the second debate of the general election, but, unlike the first, one that did not once summon the name “Trump” and focused more on the intricacies of running the government.

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Don't stop at the top of the ballot

Newsday: November 2, 2018

Cuomo and Molinaro aren’t the only candidates for New York governor.

Howie Hawkins speaks during a gubernatorial debate at

Howie Hawkins speaks during a gubernatorial debate at Hofstra University in 2010. He is one of there minor-party candidates in next week's gubernatorial contest. Photo Credit: Getty Images / Audrey C. Tiernan-Pool

By Lane Filler

In next week’s New York gubernatorial election, it’s the small-party candidates bringing some of the biggest ideas to the table.

Democratic incumbent Andrew M. Cuomo and Republican challenger Marc Molinaro might draw as much as 95 percent of the vote. They represent the established policies and politics of governance in New York. But the other three candidates may represent the policies and politics of tomorrow.

Green Party standard-bearer Howie Hawkins is an outsider whose ideas already have shaped the mainstream politics of the future. Hawkins, 65, of Syracuse, is running his third straight race for this office, but he’s been politically active for 40 years. He’s been preaching a “Green New Deal” that starts by using the transition to 100 percent clean energy by 2030 as a jobs engine. To start, Hawkins wants universal health care, vastly increased public housing built at mixed-income levels, fully funded college and a “true” $15 minimum wage.

“I’m the last progressive standing in this race,” Hawkins said during a visit to Newsday’s editorial board.

Hawkins and the Greens have fought for the same things for eons, but they sound more mainstream each cycle. In 2010, Hawkins eclipsed the 50,000-vote threshold that gave the Greens an automatic line on state ballots. In 2014, amid fears of global warming, the Greens’ staunch opposition to hydrofracking increased environmental consciousness and helped Hawkins get 184,000 votes.

This year, who knows?

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Absent Cuomo looms large over gubernatorial debate

Albany Times Union: November 1, 2018

Hawkins, a three-time gubernatorial candidate, offered up familiar proposals to anyone who's followed the candidate in previous campaigns. He proposed 100 percent clean energy in the state by 2030, a project he noted would create "thousands" of jobs, and vowed to address harmful algae blooms, lead and other contaminants in the state's water. Many of his proposals, he said, could be paid for by raising taxes on the rich.

"Shame on Andrew Cuomo for not coming here," he said in his closing statement.

"The question in this election is, 'What kind of message are we going to send? Are we going to give Cuomo a free ride or are we going to demand more?'"

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Candidates for NY governor debate without Cuomo

AP: November 1, 2018

"Shame on Andrew Cuomo for not coming here," said Green Party nominee Howie Hawkins in one of the evening's biggest applause lines. "The question in this election is this: Are we going to give Cuomo a free ride or are we going to demand more?"

...Hawkins called for big investments in education, renewable energy and roads, bridges and water infrastructure. He blamed both parties for not doing enough to address water quality and climate change. In the 2014 governor's race, Hawkins placed third after Cuomo and Republican Rob Astorino.

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Where's Andrew? Cuomo's four challengers debate without him

NY Daily News: November 1, 2018

“Shame on Andrew Cuomo for not coming here,” Hawkins said during his closing argument, drawing applause from his fellow candidates and those in the crowd.

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