For immediate release: October 3, 2018

If Howie Hawkins is not elected governor, the Green Party candidate plans to go back to work at UPS during the holiday peak season in November and December for $10.40 an hour.

When Gov. Cuomo praised Amazon on Tuesday "for following New York’s lead and raising the minimum wage to $15,” Hawkins asked, “What $15 wage?”

The minimum wage in upstate New York is currently $10.40 an hour. It will go up in steps to $12.50 by 2021. Then the state will take another look at the upstate minimum wage.

“Cuomo is campaigning around the state saying he got us a $15 wage. He’s no more reality-based than Trump. By the time we get to $15 upstate, it will still be a poverty wage. It’s time to demand $20 by 2020 statewide,” said Hawkins.

For immediate release: October 2, 2018

Hawkins Says Time to Stop Plastics in NYS

Wants Ban on Plastic Bags, Fee on Others; Ban Plastic Straws, Styrofoam

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for Governor, said today that as Governor he would introduce legislation to ban plastic bags from being used by retail outlets, regardless of size, with a 10 cents fee on other single use bags (paper) in order to promote the use of returnable bags.

“We need to halt the use of plastics because they degrade into microscopic particles that are rapidly destroying species, fisheries, and ecosystems and harming human health with plastic chemicals. They create massive worldwide litter even in remote places. They cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars to dispose in landfills,” said Hawkins.

Two years ago Governor Cuomo blocked the plastic bag law for New York City from going into effort. Mark Dunlea, the Green Party state comptroller candidate, had been one of the major organizers of the 5-year effort to pass the NYC law.

Hawkins said he supported the bill in New Jersey that was voted out of a Senate Committee last week. The measure - S2776 - would ban plastic grocery store bags, Styrofoam food containers and plastic straws. It would also impose a 10-cent fee on paper bags at grocery stores.

At the end of the recent legislative session Cuomo did propose a ban on thin plastic bags but did nothing to move the bill in the legislature. Many environmental groups opposed the bill since its failure to include a fee on other bags such as paper would just cause a shift to such bags, which have their own environmental problems.

The New York City Department of Sanitation currently estimates that it collects an average of 1,700 tons of plastic bags per week, costing $12.5 million per year in disposal expenses. Experts estimate that over eight million metric tons of plastic waste ends up in the world’s oceans each year.

“New York needs to adopt a zero waste approach to garbage. We need to pass a solid waste packaging act that requires packaging to be returnable, reusable or at least recyclable. We need the state to invest in making it easier to collect and market recyclables,” added Dunlea. Dunlea said he supported A3941 / S1935 on packaging. Packaging represents one-third of the municipal waste stream.

For immediate release: September 30, 2018

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party nominee for Governor, discussed the issue of Gubernatorial debates at the Global Citizen Festival in New York City on Saturday.

Both Hawkins and Cuomo addressed the crowd on the issue of criminalization of poverty, particularly the need to end cash bail. Gubernatorial candidates Larry Sharpe and Stephanie Miner also spoke.

Backstage, Hawkins approached Cuomo about debates, to which Cuomo replied “what debates?” After Hawkins shared his proposal for debates held in different regions of New York, Cuomo asked “are you going to organize them?”

“If I have to,” Hawkins responded, and so the Hawkins/Lee campaign has accepted the challenge and begun contacting media outlets to discuss sponsorship of the debates.

Hawkins proposes four regional debates (NYC Metro area, Capital District, Central NY and Western NY), each to focus on a topic: The Economy, Government Reform, The Environment and Climate, and Social Policy — including education, health care, criminal justice, and civil rights. 

Unlike the primary debate, the rules will be determined by all of the candidates and the media, not just Mr. Cuomo.

For immediate release: September 28, 2018

For immediate release: September 27, 2018

Hawkins to WFP: Let’s Unite the Progressive Vote

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party nominee for Governor, said he would be open to creating a joint ticket with the Working Families Party to unite the progressive vote for governor.

Hawkins said he would be reaching out to the WFP co-chairs urging them to consider his offer. The WFP state committee is meeting Thursday night.

“We feel the pain of the WFP voters who can’t stand the thought of nominating Cuomo again. Our campaign is here to help. I am confident that running a unified left campaign will generate far more than the 50,000 votes both parties need to maintain ballot status,” Hawkins said.

“Running the Hawkins/Lee ticket jointly on the Green and Working Families ballot lines would electrify progressives who want unity. It would multiply the vote for the policies both parties support, including single-payer health care, 100% clean energy, affordable housing, fixing the MTA, fully-funded public schools, tuition-free public college, public campaign finance, bail abolition, and marijuana legalization. Win or lose, a big united vote for this agenda will compel the legislators and governor who are elected to act on our demands,” Hawkins said.

For immediate release: September 26, 2018

Hawkins & Dunlea: Cuomo Should Take Climate Change as Seriously as the Weather

Responding to Andrew Cuomo's remarks that New Yorkers are fleeing upstate due to its climate, Howie Hawkins and Mark Dunlea - Green Party candidates for Governor and Comptroller - acknowledged that while the climate may motivate people, particularly retiring people, to move away, the governor is wrong to ignore the fact many people, particularly younger people, move away to find better jobs and a more affordable cost of living.

The Greens said that their plan for 100% clean energy by 2030 will create 100,000s of good jobs in construction and manufacturing and cut electric rates. “People will be moving to New York to take advantage of the job and business opportunities this emergency climate action plan will provide,” said Hawkins.

For immediate release: September 26, 2018

Cuomo is reverting to his conservative instincts with his hesitancy to renew the millionaires tax. He doesn’t need to review the state’s budget and capital plans to know we need the millionaire’s tax to fully fund good schools and services, for infrastructure repair, and to replenish state’s reserve funds so we are ready for the next economic downturn.

We should not only renew the millionaire’s tax, we should add progressively graduated brackets for multi-millionaire incomes. The share of all income in New York State for the top 1% has grown from 12% in 1980 to 31% today. Meanwhile, the lowest tax bracket was doubled from 2% to 4% and highest bracket cut from 15% to 8.82% for millionaires. The very wealthy can afford to pay more and they will still be super-rich.

NYCHA capital budget needs $32 billion over 5 years for repairs. The MTA’s Fast Forward plan needs $37 billion over 10 years to fix the subways. Other state infrastructure needs $80 billion over 20 years. It will cost $4.2 billion to catch up on Foundation Aid funding promised to fully fund high-poverty school districts pursuant to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity decision. The state needs $7 billion a year to pay for its unfunded mandates so local governments can cut our highest-in-the-nation property taxes.

Progressive taxation – including a graduated millionaire’s tax – is the fairest way to provide the public services and infrastructure New York residents deserve. If the millionaire’s don’t pay more, the rest of us will pay more in undelivered public services and failing public infrastructure.

For immediate release: September 20, 2018

Howie Hawkins Statement on Percoco Sentencing

Joe Percoco’s 6-year sentence is deserved. Unfortunately, his briber, Peter Galbraith Kelly Jr., former treasurer and finance director of the national Democratic Party, can only get a maximum of 5 years when he is sentenced next week. The biggest crime here – which can still be stopped by the governor – is permitting the Competitive Power Ventures plant. Getting CPV permitted by state government is what the bribery was for. If CPV goes online, the 10% addition to the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions is a climate crime in which we will all be victims.

For immediate release: September 20, 2018

Howie Hawkins Says Green Party is the Progressive Choice in November

(Buffalo) Howie Hawkins kicked off his general election campaign in Buffalo today by saying he was Plan B for the 500,000 people who voted for Nixon last week as well as for other voters who think Cuomo is liberal.

Hawkins also said that the disgraceful response by the federal government to the devastation one year ago today in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands highlighted the need for New York to take much stronger action on climate issues and provide aid to the Puerto Rican environmental refugees who have come to New York. Hawkins’ running mate for Lieutenant Governor, Jia Lee, a public school teacher and union organizer, spent a week in August helping the Puerto Rican teachers union organizing to resist the full-scale privatization of public schools there sought by the Trump administration in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

The Greens are calling for the cancelling of the debt, eliminating the control board, fully funding reconstruction and solarizing the power grid. Hawkins added that “Cuomo doing photo-ops is not enough to solve the crisis in Puerto Rico.” 

Ms. Lee issued her own statement: "One year after Hurricane Maria, we are seeing the blatant indifference to human suffering and loss. Further, disaster capitalism is forcing more instability in communities with more than 230 school closures, mismanagement of the school system, and the government's promise to continue privatization. The only hope is with the grassroots and militant efforts of the Federation of Teachers (FMPR) and its alliances.”

Hawkins also vowed to end the culture of corruption that dominates the State Capitol, with two of the Governor’s top aides being convicted for corruption, including a case involving the Buffalo Billion. Joe Percoco is being sentenced today for his conviction earlier this year. Over 50 New York State officials have been convicted or forced to resign since 2000 for improper activities.

For immediate release: September 18, 2018

Video of news conference

Howie Hawkins Says Green Party is the Progressive Choice in November

NY Times: Planet is Doomed; The Solution: Vote Green

(Albany) Howie Hawkin kicked off his general election campaign by appealing to progressives who voted for Nixon, Williams, and Teachout in the recent primary. He called on them to support the Green gubernatorial ticket of Hawkins and Jia Lee, as well as Michael Sussman for Attorney General and Mark Dunlea for Comptroller. Hawkins pointed out that the Green candidates are veteran activists of progressive movements, and are the most qualified for their offices.

“The Green general election ticket is Plan B after the primaries for progressive voters,” Hawkins said.

With an increasing number of scientists, government bodies, and the media increasingly warning that the future of human civilization is imperiled by accelerating climate change and extreme weather, the Green Party wants New York to set a goal of 100% clean energy by 2030.

“The NY Times Magazine recently argued that life on planet is probably doomed due to the inability of politicians to set aside partisan bickering to launch an emergency mobilization to avoid the worse of climate change. The clear solution is to vote in the Green Party because we are committed to doing what is needed to avoid climate chaos,” stated Mark Dunlea, the Green Party candidate for State Comptroller who wants the state to divest its pension fund from fossil fuels.

“The good news is that we largely know how to move to 100% clean energy while creating millions of jobs, cutting deaths from air pollution, and lowering energy costs. All we need is the political will to act and the Greens have that in abundance,” added Dunlea.